Spend An Evening W/ Iraqi playwright Jawad Al Assadi 3/5

An Evening with Iraqi playwright JAWAD AL ASSADI excerpts from his play Baghdadi Bath Directed by Zishan Ugurlu Translated by Robert Myers Discussion with Marvin Carlson

3/5 aT 6PM

Attend an evening with Jawad Al Assadi, Iraq's best-known playwright. The evening will feature excerpted readings from his play Baghdadi Bath, followed by a discussion with Jawad Al Assadi, Ph.D., Professor Marvin Carlson (The Graduate Center, CUNY), Baghdadi Bath translator Robert Myers, Ph.D., and director Zishan Ugurlu, (Ph.D., The New School). Al Assadi is the recipient of the Prince Claus Award for his dedication to freedom of cultural expression. Baghdadi Bath will have its US premiere at La MaMa E.T.C. March 12-15, 2009.

Baghdadi Bath is a play of two Iraqi brothers who work as bus drivers on a route between Baghdad and Damascus, which includes some of the world's most perilous thoroughfares. Hostage-taking, stealing and executions are daily occurrences on their route. The persistent helplessness and suffering of the Iraqi people is embodied in their misfortunes under both Saddam Hussein's regime and the American occupation. In the privacy of a steam room, they deliberate on their lives before and after the U.S. invasion, opening their hearts and exploring their repressed memories. What emerges is a picture of the wrenching everyday horror of surviving in a war zone. It presents the suffering of Iraqis engulfed in a country ravaged by violence, corruption and despair. Translated by Robert Myers & Nada Saab; designed and directed by Zishan Ugurlu; with Mohammad Jamil Dagman & Danny Boushebel.

Martin E. Segal Theatre, Graduate Center, CUNY, 365 Fifth Ave at 34th St. Free! First come, first served