Barriers Production 2002: NAIMA (Jade Wong) holds onto her son NABHIL (Amit A. Patel). Photograph by Omar Mullick.

*note: Special Talkbacks with Crew and Cast after Saturday & Sunday matinee performances.

Running time is 1 hr & 30min approx.

"Barriers," a stageplay by Rehana Mirza, makes its West Coast premiere at the Noh Theatre in San Francisco, from September 4th -14th, 2003 in commemoration of and in response to the World Trade Center tragedy. Presented as a co-production by Asian American Theater Company (San Francisco, CA) and Desipina Productions (New York, NY), the pan-Asian, Muslim themed family drama is unique in its South Asian perspective of the backlash that had escalated post 9/11. Focusing on the fact that many South Asian Americans are faced with the dilemma of having to deal with both the impact of the disaster as well as with the suspicion and racism of the surrounding communities, the play unfolds in a touching fashion, with a gentle hand at comedy.

Background

“Barriers” opens with the homecoming of the only daughter, Sunima, who is returning to her New Jersey home from New York City to announce her pending engagement. The play quickly unravels from that point, as the mixed Asian family is forced to confront past betrayals and issues and eventually ends up reaching a critical mass. Under the direction of Ravi Kapoor (noted for his appearances on the TV series "Crossing Jordan"), the play will have a workshop production prior to arriving to the Bay area.

The play premiered in 2002 in NYC, directed by Ashok Sinha, at the HERE Arts Center and went on to be featured in The New York Times, Newsday, NYtheatre.com, TheatreMania, India Abroad, News-India Express. The San Francisco production will be co-presented at the beautiful Noh Space in Potrero Hill with the Asian American Theatre Company.

“‘Barriers’ uncovers the silent story of the Muslim families who lost loved ones in the World Trade Center attacks. However, these stories were often overlooked as many Muslim families witnessed their ‘missing’ fliers marred with atrocious vandalism. Asian American Theater Company found Rehana Mirza’s script poignantly opened up this untold story and explored the human experiences behind this tragedy,” says Sean Lim, Managing Artistic Director of the Asian American Theater Company.

The author of the work, Rehana Mirza, has received her BFA from NYU's Dramatic Writing Program and has written, directed and produced a large number of plays and screenplays. Of this current project, she states, "I feel that it is important to bring together different communities through a universal storyline. With Barriers, I wanted to tell a compelling story as well as to counteract slanted media depictions by showing South Asians and Muslims in a humanistic light. I am excited to bring ‘Barriers’ to San Francisco for its west-coast premiere with AATC."

Desipina Productions
Desipina was founded by two sisters, Rehana Mirza and Rohi Mirza, who quickly discovered that the stories of Asian American women were too often judged through the traditions of existing European, patriarchal standards. Deciding to create their own tradition, the two siblings formed Desipina in order to produce their first project, Barriers, a pan-Asian family drama that deals with the loss, as well as the backlash and prejudice that arose towards South Asians from the WTC tragedy.
www.desipina.org

Rehana Mirza's
Barriers
A Young, South Asian Woman Responds to 9/11 with Theatre
presented by
Asian American Theater Company
and
Desipina Productions

when:

September 4th-14th, 2003

where:

Noh Space (MAP) 2840 Mariposa Street San Francisco (415) 543-5738

shows:

For more information contact:  

Asian American Theater Company

phone:
415-543-5738
email:
info@asianamericantheater.org
www:
www.asianamericantheater.org

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