Following its sell-out Australian premiere at Sydney Theatre Company (STC), Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Disgraced will be brought to the stages of Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres and the Canberra Theatre Centre in June.
New York. Today. Corporate lawyer Amir Kapoor (Sachin Joab) is happy, in love, and about to land the biggest promotion of his life. But beneath all the trappings, success has come at a price.
When Amir and his artist wife, Emily (Geraldine Hakewill), host an intimate dinner party at their Upper East Side apartment, what starts out as a friendly conversation soon escalates into something far more damaging.
In dialogue that bristles with wit and complexity, Ayad Akhtar’s award-winning play puts contemporary attitudes toward religion under the microscope. The result is a fiercely intelligent and sensationally entertaining drama that reveals the prejudices and compromises of modern Western culture.
Described by The New York Times as a “terrific, turbulent drama,” Disgraced has been a sell-out hit on Broadway and across America. This intelligent, thought provoking play of urgency and relevance illuminates issues of prejudice, race, religion and the sort of modern demonisation that is simultaneously shocking and unsurprising.
Directed by STC Resident Director Sarah Goodes, with design by Elizabeth Gadsby, a stellar cast including Sachin Joab and Paula Arundell will explore this fiercely intelligent and entertaining drama.
“Sometimes a writer comes out and just nails an argument that everyone’s been circling for a long time,” says director Sarah Goodes. “Ayad Akhtar explores the politics of identity, in terms of Islam as a religion and a culture, in terms of how art can empower or exploit, and in terms of how secular and liberal ideals butt up against history and tradition.”
Disgraced is a 90-minute roller-coaster ride through some of the most thrilling theatre you’re ever likely to see.” – The Daily Telegraph
Disgraced
Riverside Theatre, Corner Church and Market Streets, Parramatta
Performances: 16 – 18 June 2016
Information and Bookings: www.riversideparramatta.com.au
Canberra Theatre Centre, London Circuit, Canberra
Performance: 22 – 25 June 2016
Information and Bookings: www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au
Image: courtesy of Sydney Theatre Company