SCREAM FROM TAL AFAR

$5.40 – $10.00

This play was inspired by an image of a little Iraqi girl in Tal Afar screaming after her parents had just been shot dead at a USA army checkpoint. This happened on the same day that G. W. Bush was inaugurated for the 2nd time as President of USA. The little girl’s scream seemed to fill the image with her pain, fear and incomprehension. The images can be seen here.

This lyrical and expressionistic work is rhythmic and tense. A Western Woman reads a poem written on torn sheets, like a funeral winding cloth. A silent Arabic Woman encourages the Western Woman to read the poem. A soldier, holding a microphone as if it was a rifle, also wants the words spoken. This is a play that witnesses the atrocities of war and the compassion of those caught up in its terrors.

APT