Friday May 25, 2007 SGN.org |
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Volume 35 Issue 21 |
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Sunday, Oct 12, 2008
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On the Boards provides a refreshing look at the U.S. government and its policies |
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| On the Boards provides a refreshing look at the U.S. government and its policies | ||
| Vancouver B.C.'s neworldtheatre provide outsider's view by E. Joyce Glasgow - SGN A&E Writer It was very refreshing to experience an "outsider's" take on the Bush Administration and its policies when neworldtheatre of Vancouver, B.C., Canada brought its biting satire, "Ali and Ali & the aXes of Evil to On the Boards last weekend. It also made me realize how little political theater about our government is being created within our own country. People are afraid to produce anything these days which someone might find inflammatory. "My Name is Rachel Corrie", while having been presented recently by Seattle Rep, couldn't be produced in New York City, of all places, because it was considered too controversial. British playwright David Hare's play, "Stuff Happens", about what happens behind the Administration's closed doors leading up to the Iraq war, has been turned down for production at many theaters across the U.S. Fortunately, ACT will be presenting it in June and July, 2007. I commend On the Boards for not being afraid to present theater which is critical of our government. Neworldtheatre is a small group of writers and performers who are intelligent, thoughtful, observant, creative and unafraid to say what they think. They sincerely care about the future of our world and use their theater platform to engage, and educate their audience, while entertaining them, about important matters. They are both politically correct and incorrect, using ethnic stereotypes, but uncannily busting those stereotypes by their use. The actors are dynamic, colorful and broad, utilizing wild costumes, video and unexpected surprises, some shocking (or lewd), to get their message across. The puppet show, featuring Condoleezza Rice, "Semi- Colin" Powell, George Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld is classic and really nails these characters on the head with real bite and humor. Ali Hakim (co-writer/director, Guillermo Verdecchia) and Ali Ababwa (co-writer, Marcus Youssef), are two poor, desperate refugees from the mythical, war torn Middle Eastern country of "Agraba", caught in a kind of limbo, created by the New World Order, between a world of devastation, (courtesy of U.S. foreign policy), and one of unattainable Western Capitalist wealth. They try to find a way to fit in, soliciting and cajoling their American audience for marriage proposals and green cards and credit cards to buy pizza and frantically trying to make sense out of their situation. They don't fit in, painfully true for many real life refugees. They have interactions with a videoed terrorism "expert", erstwhile Dr. Mohanides Panir, (co-writer, Camyar Chai), who keeps the audience up to the minute on current levels of terrorist threat starting with Decaf, Double Double, Extremely High and currently at Boot Cut, sponsored by The Gap. Ron John (John Murphy) the Alis' "assistant" adds slapstick and wackiness with his portrayals of an indignant Scottish theater manager, a reluctant Aladdin, a Chinese immigrant and other supportive roles including the surprise "guest appearance" of Osama bin Laden. Osama shows up with a rifle and a suitcase, perhaps filled with money, the Alis' are hoping. Bin Laden commends the Alis' with praise, handing them the suitcase and leaving. Being screwed again, this time by an Arab brother, they rush to open the suitcase only to find a ticking bomb, which explodes, sending them to the next world, where they wistfully dream of a time when there will be peace, there will be clean water to drink and no one will be killed anymore on earth. This theater piece is fast-paced and filled with unpredictable variety, blending comedy and tragedy and giving the audience plenty of food for thought about our country's actions and about the way we are perceived from a distance. Neworldtheatre is highly original and I enjoyed The Adventures of Ali & Ali and the aXes of Evil tremendously. Neworldtheatre was founded in 1994 and describes itself as: "created through a potent mixture of collective creation and traditional script development, neworld productions investigate intersections between communities and peoples. Our work examines borders--between cultures, styles and disciplines--and our shows are hybrids of East and West, of the real and the imaginary, and of story and cabaret." For more information about neworldtheatre, visit www.neworldtheatre.com. For more information about up-coming events at On the Boards, including the Northwest New Works Festival, June 8th-10th and 15th-17th, visit www.ontheboards.org. |
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copyright Seattle Gay News - DigitalTeamWorks 2007