a staged reading
by Alaudin Ullah
Directed by Reena Dutt
Showtimes
Friday, August 5 @ 8 pm
Saturday, August 6 @ 2:30 pm
Saturday, August 6 @ 8 pm
A comedian turned documentarian is inspired by an old flame to go back to his parents’ village in Bangladesh to complete a documentary as a gift to his mother. Upon arrival secrets of his parents’ past are revealed, extremists kill bloggers and throw acid on women who defy them, and the female ghosts of 1971 liberation appear while Alaudin must choose between love or championing local women as an accidental feminist.
About the Artist
Playwright Alaudin Ullah
Alaudin Ullah was a trailblazer for the past two decades as one of the first South Asian comedians featured Nationally on HBO, MTV, BET, PBS, and Comedy Central. Limited by negative stereotypes, with little to no representation of his people, Alaudin turned from acting to writing. As a member of the Public Theater’s Inaugural Emerging writers group, he wrote plays about Harlem and Bangladesh. He was the recent 2022 recipient for the Conneticut Critics award for Outstanding Solo Performance for his play Dishwasher Dreams directed by Chay Yew. This past season Dishwasher Dreams premiered in Chicago's Writer's Theater and at Hartford Stage. He workshopped and/or produced his plays at The Public Theater, New York Theater Workshop, Lark Play Development Center, Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture, LAByrinth Theater Company, New Federal, Cape Cod Theater Fest, and in Chicago (at Silk Road and Victory Gardens). As an actor in film, he co-starred in American Desi and did several voices in the award-winning, animated Sita Sings the Blues. On television, he was featured in Uncle Morty’s Dub Shack (IATV). Vivek Bald’s book, Bengali Harlem, was inspired by Alaudin’s plays and his family’s journey to America. He will be co-directing the documentary of the same name that will air next year on PBS (bengaliharlem.com). Alaudin’s ongoing dedication is to creating stories and characters that counter, challenge, and correct, the misperception of South Asians and Muslims.
