Description
Based on the short story by Hassan Blasim. Salim, an Iraqi refugee, takes on a new identity In London after fleeing persecution in Baghdad. He is picked up, and marries a wealthy older woman, who enthusiastically coaches him in the bedroom for his forthcoming citizenship test. But Carlos Fuentes finds that knowing the names of all six of Henry VIII's wives can neither satisfy his new wife nor turn him into a "Britishman". The nightmare of the violence of his past catches up with him, and suddenly he is at the airport, accompanied by a G4 security guard, waiting for a plane to take him back to Iraq.
A new play based on an award-winning short story by Hassan Blasim, an exiled and award-winning Iraqi writer.
About the Author
Rashid Razaq is a playwright, screenwriter and journalist. His debut play The President and The Pakistani (directed by Tom Attenborough), based on the real-life story of Barack Obama and his illegal immigrant flatmate opened to strong reviews at the Waterloo East Theatre in run-up to the US presidential election in 2012. Rashid's short play Arab Spring was performed at the Nursery Festival in 2011 and was featured on BBC Arabic Service. His short play, Hardcore, was selected for a best of programme at the 503 Theatre. He is a graduate of the Royal Court Theatre's Young Writer's Programme. Rashid wrote Man and Boy which won Best Short at the Tribeca Film Festival 2011 and a top prize at the Aspen Film Festival. His previous short film Father was selected for festivals in the UK and internationally. He has co-written the forthcoming feature film Orthodox, about an Orthodox Jewish boxer and has another feature film in development. Rashid works as a reporter for the London Evening Standard covering subjects including crime, arts and politics.
Reviews
Hassan Blasim's short story is a matter not of pretended insight but rather of intensely sympathetic observation - an unpresumptuous, unpretentious and above all a deeply sensitive piece of work. * Financial Times *
...a blackly witty, tonally false-footing and cumulatively devastating play. * Independent *
Gives us an insight into the daily devastation wrought by sectarian conflict in post-Saddam Iraq via the simple expedient of telling us one man's story of flight and struggle. * Evening Standard *
Packed with good ideas and audacious in structure. * Guardian *
This examination of the uncertain fate of Iraqi refugees in Britain is a worthwhile addition to the dossier of theatrical material on the Iraq war. * Telegraph *
A personal look at the devastation wreaked on Iraq and Iraqis after Western military action that makes interesting viewing. * Stage *
Intriguing and affecting. * Time Out *
[A] gem of a script. * What's on Stage *
The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes - puts an unusual domestic relationship and an international conflict side by side in this brave satire documenting an individual's crisis of identity. * Younger Theatre *
A surreal imagination here blends with stark reality. * British Theatre Guide *
Book Information
ISBN 9781783191536
Author Rashid Razaq
Format Paperback
Page Count 96
Imprint Oberon Books Ltd
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
A new play based on an award-winning short story by Hassan Blasim, an exiled and award-winning Iraqi writer.
About the Author
Rashid Razaq is a playwright, screenwriter and journalist. His debut play The President and The Pakistani (directed by Tom Attenborough), based on the real-life story of Barack Obama and his illegal immigrant flatmate opened to strong reviews at the Waterloo East Theatre in run-up to the US presidential election in 2012. Rashid's short play Arab Spring was performed at the Nursery Festival in 2011 and was featured on BBC Arabic Service. His short play, Hardcore, was selected for a best of programme at the 503 Theatre. He is a graduate of the Royal Court Theatre's Young Writer's Programme. Rashid wrote Man and Boy which won Best Short at the Tribeca Film Festival 2011 and a top prize at the Aspen Film Festival. His previous short film Father was selected for festivals in the UK and internationally. He has co-written the forthcoming feature film Orthodox, about an Orthodox Jewish boxer and has another feature film in development. Rashid works as a reporter for the London Evening Standard covering subjects including crime, arts and politics.
Reviews
Hassan Blasim's short story is a matter not of pretended insight but rather of intensely sympathetic observation - an unpresumptuous, unpretentious and above all a deeply sensitive piece of work. * Financial Times *
...a blackly witty, tonally false-footing and cumulatively devastating play. * Independent *
Gives us an insight into the daily devastation wrought by sectarian conflict in post-Saddam Iraq via the simple expedient of telling us one man's story of flight and struggle. * Evening Standard *
Packed with good ideas and audacious in structure. * Guardian *
This examination of the uncertain fate of Iraqi refugees in Britain is a worthwhile addition to the dossier of theatrical material on the Iraq war. * Telegraph *
A personal look at the devastation wreaked on Iraq and Iraqis after Western military action that makes interesting viewing. * Stage *
Intriguing and affecting. * Time Out *
[A] gem of a script. * What's on Stage *
The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes - puts an unusual domestic relationship and an international conflict side by side in this brave satire documenting an individual's crisis of identity. * Younger Theatre *
A surreal imagination here blends with stark reality. * British Theatre Guide *
Book Information
ISBN 9781783191536
Author Rashid Razaq
Format Paperback
Page Count 96
Imprint Oberon Books Ltd
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
