I don't know where to begin. How do you write
a review?
I saw Ali Dadgar perform a one-man play called
"Baggage". It's about a man in an airport terminal
with lots of luggage. This is not your ordinary airport
and he's not just any passenger. His bags and suitcases
are full of memories, upleasant memories.
He's
from
the
Middle East, you see.
I don't want to go into too much detail because
I know I will screw up somewhere. I'll just say this: I
felt the pain, fears and confusion of a man born at the
wrong place and the wrong time; a man
made helpless by the constant smell of death and destruction.
A man always on the run who doesn't know why he's being
chased. What has he done wrong? Nothing.
He is surrounded by all that is absurd and cruel, and very
very
real.
There are those of you who know I know Ali
well. But my praise for his performance goes beyond a friendly
baarikalaa. I'm no critic and I don't know much about theater.
But what I saw moved me. I have seen Ali in several
plays but this one stands out. It's
the
first
time
he has
played
a vulnerable
character -- and convincingly too. It shows his range and
maturity.
Of course it doesn't hurt to have a powerful
script and good production. "Baggage" is written
by Fateh Samih
Azzam and directed
by Christopher Morrison. It is part of the "Re-Orient"
theatrical festival in San Francisco. Go see it while there's
still time. You will learn aspects of the Middle Eastern
psyche that you could never grasp by watching any amount
of TV or browsing all 10 million google
search listings.
Your last chance is this weekend. I
highly recommend "Baggage" which
you can see this Friday at New Langton Arts center (1246
Folsom
St.
between 8th & 9th) >>> Details
And I want to say something about Torange
Yeghiazarian who is the force behind this festival. I
first met Torange as one of the members of Darvag,
an Iranian theater group
in Berkeley. Then four years
ago she decided to start her own production company --
Golden
Thread -- and offer plays about the Middlre East for
the broader American
audience in the San Francisco Bay Area.
No other Bay
Area theater company stages
more plays about our part of the world (is there a more
important part of the world?) than Golden Thread. These
are modest productions with great depth, passion and artistry
that profile us
as remnants of decades, if not centuries of religious,
cultural
and
political
earthquakes. And San Francisco's critics are taking notice.
Torange's hard work in pursuit of a dream
is paying off. And we're all the better for it.
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
I don't want to go into too much detail because
I know I will screw up somewhere. I'll just say this: I
felt the pain, fears and confusion of a man born at the
wrong place and the wrong time; a man
made helpless by the constant smell of death and destruction.
A man always on the run who doesn't know why he's being
chased. What has he done wrong? Nothing.
He is surrounded by all that is absurd and cruel, and very
very
real.