Language Rooms
Price range: $15.00 through $15.95
Description
Ahmed is a shining example of the American Dream, successfully landing a big-time position as translator at a top secret detainment facility. But things are not what they seem in this twisted workplace as he soon finds himself dodging shifty video cameras and absurd interoffice mind games. A riveting dark comedy about misguided patriotism and the true meaning of “loyalty,” brilliantly shifting between comedy and political suspense with surprising twists along the way.
Production Info
Full Length Dark Comedy (about 90 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
Press Quotes
“Go see LANGUAGE ROOMS now. I bought a ticket with no intention of a review, but Yussef El Guindi is far and away one of the most exciting new playwrights I have heard in years. The story takes place in an unnamed interrogation facility at an undisclosed location, and translator and interrogator Ahmed finds that his loyalty to the CIA and his adopted country, the U.S.A., is suddenly questioned. What could have been a play about issues — terrorism, 9/11, displaced Muslims in a new world — becomes an engaging, funny, scary tale about family, identity and more. Guindi avoids an agitation propaganda approach and lets the story tell itself. This is theatre that makes you think about universal themes that affect all of us.” —Tony Frankel, Stage and Cinema
“Sometimes a show is so well-done that you leave the theatre wanting to talk about it. Other you leave speechless … [LANGUAGE ROOMS] belongs to the latter category … LANGUAGE ROOMS interrogates the immigrant dream, the dirty foundation of American life, and the concept of truth itself in modern America. Not only the extent to which we can know what’s really going on around us, but also the extent to which we can know ourselves … Powerful seems too trite an adjective to use, but when a show leaves you speechless, you have to make do with the words you have.” —Eilish McLean, Drama in the Hood
“Enormously clever … There’s lots going on in this two-act, dialogue-heavy play, and it’s to El Guindi’s credit that he has achieved such a sweet balance between serious, relevant drama and dark humor (a captive in shackles is asked to fill out a questionnaire evaluating the agency’s interrogation methods; torture devices include not only pliers and duct tape but also a honey bear, a carton of milk — because terrorists are assumed to be lactose-intolerant). The plight of the immigrant in America — and the unease we’ve surely all experienced in relationships with family, government and community — is beautifully captured in the characters of Ahmed and his father, Samir, a Middle Eastern immigrant who was an engineer at home, a shopkeeper in America.” —San Franciso Examiner
Author
Yussef El GuindiBorn in Egypt, raised in London, and now based in Seattle, Yussef El Guindi's work frequently examines the collision of ethnicities, cultures, and politics that face Arab-Americans and Muslim Americans. El Guindi holds an MFA in playwriting from Carnegie Mellon University and has worked as resident playwright at Silk Road Theatre Project; literary manager for Golden Thread Productions; and playwright-in-residence at Duke University. He is the recipient of many honors, including the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award and the 2010 Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award. El Guindi's most recent productions include THE TALENTED ONES at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland (Santa Barbara Independent Indy Awards); THREESOME at Portland Center Stage, ACT, and at 59E59 (winner of a Portland Drammy for Best Original Script); PILGRIMS MUSA AND SHERI IN THE NEW WORLD (winner of the Steinberg/American Theater Critics Association's New Play Award in 2012; and the 2011 Gregory Award) also at ACT, and at Center Repertory Company (Walnut Creek, CA) 2013; and LANGUAGE ROOMS (Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award), co-produced by Golden Thread Productions and the Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco; at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia (premiere), and at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Other productions: OUR ENEMIES: LIVELY SCENES OF LOVE AND COMBAT was produced by Silk Road Theater Project and won the M. Elizabeth Osborn award. His play BACK OF THE THROAT (winner of L.A. Weekly's Excellence in Playwriting Award for 2006), PILGRIMS MUSA AND SHERI IN THE NEW WORLD, JIHAD JONES AND THE KALASHNIKOV BABES, SUCH A BEAUTIFUL VOICE IS SAYEDA and KARIMA’S CITY have been published by Dramatists Play Service. TEN ACROBATS IN AN AMAZING LEAP OF FAITH, COLLABORATOR, THREESOME, and THE TALENTED ONES have been published by Broadway Play Publishing Inc. OUR ENEMIES: LIVELY SCENES OF LOVE AND COMBAT is published in the anthology FOUR ARAB AMERICAN PLAYS published by McFarland Books. In January 2019, Bloomsbury will publish SELECTED WORKS BY YUSSEF EL GUINDI. Currently a Core Company playwright member at ACT in Seattle, 2018.
Book Information
| Publisher | BPPI |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 10/30/2025 |
| Pages | 86 |
| ISBN | 9798888560556 |
Special Notes
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypublishing.com
