An irreverent but tender memoir of a father, a son and a question of faith, award winning writer, actor and comedian Osamah Sami brings the stage adaptation of his critically acclaimed memoir, Good Muslim Boy to the Cremorne Theatre – QPAC until 4 August 2018.
Meet Osamah Sami: a schemer, a dreamer and a madcap antihero of spectacular proportions whose questionable life choices keep leading to cataclysmic consequences… despite his best laid plans.
What does it mean to be a good Muslim boy? You probably shouldn’t gawk at girls in bikinis or fake a medical degree. If you must be an actor, you shouldn’t play a gay man on television, or Saddam Hussein in a post 9/11 American musical. And you definitely, definitely shouldn’t leave an arranged bride at the altar.
Meet Osamah Sami. He’s done all of the above. Interesting, considering his father is one of the leading Islamic clerics in Australia, having pulled his family out of war-torn Iran to settle in suburban Melbourne.
But when his kindly and unorthodox dad dies suddenly during a trip to Iran, Osamah must grapple with an inscrutable and corrupt bureaucracy in his fight to bring his father’s body home to Australia – all the while looking back on his life in a haunting, hilarious and heart-wrenching retrospective.
Co-written and directed by Janice Muller, this Kafkaesque tale makes light of spectacular absurdity and highlights the beautiful contradictions found at the cross currents of two cultures, and features Rodney Afif, Nicole Nabout and Osamah Sami.
“At a time when families are being torn apart at frontier posts, refugee boats are being turned back from ports to the peril of the open sea, countries are throwing up hard borders and political parties soar to power on the back of rigid anti-immigration policies, the core theme of Osamah’s story has never been more urgent,” says Queensland Theatre Artistic Director, Sam Strong. “It’s sobering to think that the kind of twisted and cruel bureaucracy presented in this play might be closer than we think.”
Osamah Sami is an award-winning actor, writer, spoken word artist, and stand up comedian of Iraqi origin. His critically acclaimed book Good Muslim Boy was the winner of the 2016 NSW Premier’s Literary Award. It was also Highly Commended at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards that same year.
Sami also co wrote and starred in Ali’s Wedding – Australia’s first Muslim Rom-Com, which earned him an Australian Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as well as a nomination for Best Lead Actor. His role as Amor in Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of I Call My Brothers earned him a Green Room nomination for Best Lead Actor. He has appeared in over a dozen film and theatre productions, including the lead opposite Claudia Karvan in Tony Ayres’ telemovie Saved.
“Good Muslim Boy stands out from the pack for its success in rendering the strange as familiar, and the familiar as deeply strange.” – The Australian
Director: Janice Muller Featuring: Rodney Afif, Nicole Nabout, Osamah Sami Set & Costume Design: Romanie Harper Lighting Design: Ben Hughes Sound Design & Composition: Phil Slade Stage Manager: Belinda Gibson
Good Muslim Boy
Cremorne Theatre – QPAC, Cultural Precinct, South Bank (Brisbane)
Season continues to 4 August 2018
Information and Bookings: www.queenslandtheatre.com.au
Image: Osamah Sami stars in Good Muslim Boy – courtesy of Queensland Theatre