By Ras H. Siddiqui
On Thursday, September 4 my wife and I a had the pleasure of attending the West Coast premiere of Rehana Mirza’s superbly penned play “Barriers” at the Noh Space Theatre on Mariposa Street in San Francisco. One cannot escape the pun here as “Noh Space” actually has little room with maximum seating for about 60, out of which 40 or so were filled on the opening night. But numbers are not relevant at the moment since only a select few have heard about this theatrical presentation thus far in California, a fact that in all likelihood is about to change.
 |
|
The cast and support personnel of Barriers with Rehana Mirza (seated center)
|
The play was staged as a joint effort by the Asian American Theatre Company and Desipina & Company (www.desipina.org).
 |
|
Rehana Mirza and Ras Siddiqui
|
This play is in essence a Pakistani-Asian-American-Muslim attempt to deal with the fallout of that murderous and tragic day of 9-11-2001 when thousands lost their lives at the World Trade Center in New York. The writer, while keeping the WTC in the backdrop at all times, builds upon the ever physically present yet actually absent character of Nabil (played by Sunkrish Bala) who continues to cast a spell on a family long after 9/11. And to this mix of this Pakistani-Asian-Muslim Abbas family is added one principal “outside” character which is Roger (acted with great sensitivity by Tyler Pierce). Roger wants to marry the Abbas daughter, 28 year old Sunima (Meera Simhan shines in this role) who is trying to juggle a number of challenges both within herself and the family she holds dear.
But the real complexities are faced by the mother Naima played by Diana Tanaka who is Asian (the author alludes to the Japanese American internment experience, but the character in all probability is Chinese (or is she?) and now Pakistani by marriage). And speaking of Pakistani, the lead character of the father Khalil is played by Wajid who is actually a Pakistani Lahori who grew up in England and now lives in Burbank, California.
One does not know what the writer Mirza had in mind but last but not least the character of the youngest son and the brother, 16 year old Sherhy played by Rodney Jao really shook up “Barriers”. Shehriar (Sherhy) has not been back to school in months (post 9/11) and tackles many issues facing him with little success.
Directed by Ravi Kapoor and produced by Rohi Mirza (the writer’s sister), “Barriers” is like a double-edged sword. It is about the barriers that have been erected in many minds after 9/11 here in America, erected both by the “white” world outside the homes of us the “brown folks” here and inside, within the family structure that most Asians hold dear to them. South Asians will feel a sense of identification during this play because Hindu, Muslim or especially Sikh, being brown in America had not been easy since 9/11.
This is not an easy play to watch. There is some profanity here and intense segments that may not be suitable for all viewers. But during some of the discomfort that the viewer may feel during the performance what stands out most is the honesty of feelings expressed. This play is about the Muslim-American family experience post- 9/11. It is about the all too frequent ringing telephones/cell phones (a commentary on our current life) and about how barriers have been erected and are breaking concurrently as Muslims assimilate here yet sometimes made to feel alienated in this salad bowl or melting pot of America.
I spoke to this young writer shortly after the performance. Rehana Mirza’s father is from Pakistan and her mother is of Philippines origin (Pina) hinting at where the name Desipina originated. Along with her sister Rohi, she comes across as your non-typical Pakistani-Asian young lady of the liberal bent who has attempted to share her feelings (and those of young American Muslims) on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 with the rest of America and beyond.
The job of a critic or a reviewer is not to reveal what happens during the show. It is for the general audience to view and evaluate it on its merits. But what one can mention is that “Barriers” is really an American experience saturated in immigrant juices. It is a story that has evolved out of terror. It is about five individuals (four from the Abbas family and Roger) who are trying to deal either directly or indirectly with the fallout of September 11, 2001. To this mix Rehana Mirza has added an individual strength of characters that come alive via a solid acting performance by a talented cast.
There is no Broadway and glitter here. “Barriers” has no elaborate set. But it does have a powerful story about a Muslim-American family directly traumatized by 9/11 and its continued struggle to adapt to the situation in the ‘new’ America that has emerged from the ashes of the World Trade Center. And in that vein this play is certainly worth more than a second look.
(Barriers, a stage play by Rehana Mirza, plays on the West Coast at the Noh Theatre in San Francisco, from September 4-14, 2003 in commemoration of, and in response to, the World Trade Center tragedy. The play then travels to Los Angeles for one weekend only at Stages Theater Center in Hollywood from September 25-28, 2003).