'disgraced' feels urgent and relevant post-woolwich

'disgraced' feels urgent and relevant post-woolwich


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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOWThe hit US play _Disgraced_ by Ayad Akhtar has received its UK premiere at the Bush Theatre, London. It won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Set in contemporary New


York, _Disgraced_ tells the story of successful corporate lawyer, Amir Kapoor, and his artist wife, Emily. Their seemingly charmed lives begin to unravel when a dinner party in their Upper


East Side apartment reveals Amir's hidden ethnic and religious identity. Nadia Fall directs Hari Dhillon (_Holby City_) as Amir and Kirsty Bushell as Emily. With Danny Ashok (_Four


Lions_). Until 22 June. SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE SIGN UP FOR THE


WEEK'S FREE NEWSLETTERS From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a


weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. WHAT THE CRITICS LIKE"A powerful, challenging, deftly crafted work," _Disgraced_ explores


race, culture and what it means to be Muslim in post-9/11 America, says Patricia Nicol in the Sunday Times. It's a clever, gripping modern American tragedy. It's a superb


production of "a tough, compelling play", says Michael Billington in The Guardian. Its central concern with exposing the dangers of denying one's racial and religious


inheritance gains added urgency as apparently jihadist-inspired violence returns to our streets. "_Disgraced_ is an urgent, relevant play and worthy winner of 2013's Pulitzer Prize


for drama," says Dominic Cavendish in the Daily Telegraph. Following the sickening act of terror in Woolwich, it feels bluntly necessary and if it's only a step in the right


direction towards a full and frank discussion about these issues, at least it's a step. WHAT THEY DON'T LIKE"Nadia Fall's production is absorbing, but suffers from


excessively long and portentous scene changes," says Henry Hitchins in the Evening Standard. _Disgraced_ calls to mind David Mamet at his most rivetingly ruthless, but the plot feels a


touch contrived. Explore More In Review