Being handed the script for Disgraced was a pivotal moment in my life. My senior year of college, a mentor of mine saw that I was disengaged with the traditional play selections we were studying in class. Most of the plays were from the cis-hetero white male perspective, and it was extremely difficult to see myself truly represented as a trans Arab woman. My mentor made an independent study for me, and the first play she had me read was Disgraced. I had never interacted with a play that took a complex look at the post-9/11 Muslim experience in America. I saw myself and my shame in Amir. My complicated relationship with a religion that raised me—that was my entire world. The desire to distance myself from that. The desire to survive in a world where being born Muslim felt like a dark stain. It was an extremely cathartic moment that ultimately led me back to the embrace of my culture. I’m proud to be Muslim. I’m proud to have been raised Muslim. It has made the best parts of me. However, not every Muslim person has had a positive relationship with this play. It has caused a lot of harm, and trauma for the Muslim American community. It has reinforced negative stereotypes, and has become our sole source of representation in the regional theatre landscape. This complication is born from the deep need for this play to have a level of complexity that is not allowed for non-white folks. Because the characters are not one dimensional. They are not heroes or villains or martyrs or demons. They are human. And in order to fully encompass that, there has to be an understanding of the Muslim American experience while watching this play. An understanding that it’s not Amir’s religion that leads him to commit a violent act, but his own toxic masculinity, and inability to deal with and understand his emotions and trauma. The understanding that his culture—and his faith—preach love, grace, and community. Because it’s the misinterpretation of others, and the negative stereotypes formed by non-Muslims, that have led to a hatred and desire to remove himself from his culture. I ask you, as an audience member, to hold that understanding as you embark on this play.
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Disgraced
by Ayad Akhtar
directed by Sharifa Yasmin
This Pulitzer Prize winning play tells the story of Amir Kapoor, a successful Pakistani-American lawyer who is rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while distancing himself from his cultural roots.