Displaying items by tag: Susaan Jamshidi

“Ripe material for a comedy,” chuckles Atra Asdou, writer and star of ‘Iraq, but Funny” now playing at Lookingglass Theatre. Asdou’s new madcap play is part comedy, part history, part family drama. Directed by Dalia Ashurina, this hard-to-define play feels like the kind of thing we absolutely need more of.

If laughter is said to be the best medicine, then it’s surely a good thing for casual educational experiences too. In under three hours, Asdou (in character as a Bugs Bunny-ish British colonizer) provides the entire history of European imperialism in the Middle East–from the perspective of the victor, as most histories are told. The colonizer, or “Actor 5”, condenses decades of complex conflict into a darkly humorous sketch comedy. The play is balanced with vignettes from a multi-generational family riding the wave of current events that ultimately lead them to 1990s Chicago.

History is more likely to repeat itself if nobody knows the history in the first place. “Iraq, but Funny” seeks to inform a mostly Western audience about how Middle Eastern land and culture have been divided and conquered for centuries by exploitative forces. Asdou’s morally slippery character relays a shocking and brutal narrative with such wry humor that you nearly forget very little has changed in the way the West engages with the rest of the world. What’s even more seductive yet is how much fun her character is to watch. Asdou’s Second City background is on full display.

Susaan Jamshidi plays the matriarch character, “Actor 1” and in every era, life is constantly shifting under their feet. She impresses on her daughter, “Actor 2” (Gloria Imseih Petrelli) that their lives are for the next generation. The central relationship between mother and daughter illustrates the real-life effects of colonialism and the people’s lives it shapes. Both actresses deliver powerful performances as they bring to life a century of family members. 

Omid Akbari whisks the audience around the world with his minimal, but highly effective set in the historic Water Tower Water Works theater. Costumes by Mara Blumenfeld are also a huge asset for the comedic set-ups, particularly the Uncle Sam get-up Asdou sports at one point. 

Lookingglass Theatre’s production of “Iraq, but Funny” belongs among the likes of Cole Escola’s “Oh, Mary!”. The dense and intellectual script along with Asdou’s sidesplitting comedic performance are a special blend you don’t often see. The kind of play that makes you wonder, “how did they come up with this?” Though, there’s an immediacy to this play that can’t be ignored. While it’s written as satire, it’s the kind of thing that’s so tragic if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. This is a play about empathy. What Asdou has effectively done is what SNL does every week, amuse and inform. In comedy, we find our humanity. And with ‘Iraq, but Funny”, Asdou succinctly relays an ugly past, with enough levity to challenge preconceived notions about world history.

Through July 20 at Lookingglass Theatre. 163 E Pearson St. 312-337-0665

Playwright Rohina Malik and director Ann Filmer have reunited and have collaborated on something special. Goodman Theatre’s current run of Yasmina's Necklace is one of my favorite plays of 2017. Here's why. 

In Yasmina’s Necklace, we are treated to a uniquely told love story that is as moving as it is thoughtful. It is funny, and it is beautifully staged. A story this wonderfully crafted and so well acted that delivers such a poignant message only comes around so often.

Yasmina and her father, Musa, are refugees from Iraq and they meet an upper middle-class family in Chicago who are looking for a wife for their divorced son Sam. We are reminded that it is very common in the Muslim faith to have an arranged marriage, prompting one of my favorite lines from the play, "real love comes after marriage, not before." 

Sam, played to perfection by Michael Perez, had moved away from the Islamic faith and married a non-Muslim American. He talks a bit about the challenges he had after the marriage and the many medications he had to be on due to his infidelity. Yet he strives for all things you would see in someone who is first generation like acclimating to the Western culture by changing his name, as well as pushing himself in his career. 

The true magic happens in the connection Sam makes with Yasmina, who is wonderfully played by Susaan Jamshidi, but the two didn't start off so smoothly. Yasmina is a thirty-four-year-old woman who is empowered, self-aware, an artist. This is not a common perspective you see of Muslim woman and I loved how Yasmina pushed back on what she wanted and strived to help others not only in Baghdad but also in Chicago. 

What drew me to the play immediately was the simplicity and peace shown around the Islamic faith. In today's society, I believe this is the most misunderstood religion even with close to two billion followers globally. The journey Yasmina and her father made to the United States from war torn Baghdad was something no human should ever experience. War is ugly, cruel, and unjust. The play is able to highlight the challenges of being a refugee and painted a vividly raw picture of what they went through. 

You have a bit of everything in this play that I could go on and on about but want you to experience for yourself. All the ingredients are in place for a thoroughly engaging production that will touch your heart, make you laugh and is sure to enlighten. I highly recommend Yasmina's Necklace.

Yasmina’s Necklace is being performed at the Goodman's Theatre through November 19th. Tickets range from $10-40. Yasmina’s Necklace has an approximate running time of two hours including one intermission. Oh, there is a special surprise at the closing for all the Bruce Springsteen fans out there. 

For more show information visit www.goodmantheatre.org.