BURQ OFF! Begins 1/15 at Teatro Circulo

Paprika Productions has announced that it will present the New York premiere of BURQ OFF!, a gutsy autobiographical one-woman show written and performed by Nadia Parvez Manzoor that humorously and insightfully navigates the complexities of life as a modern Muslim Woman in the West. Previews begin January 7, with an official opening on January 10. The run will continue through Saturday, Jan 18, 2015 at Teatro Circulo, 64 East 4th St. Tara Elliott directs. http://nadiapmanzoor.com.

BURQ OFF! is a jaunty tour through madly opposing worlds. The glowing promise of modern London clashes with the glum realities of a conservative Pakistani Muslim home, while fierce Bollywood dance moves and at least one blackout drinking incident ensue.

Embodying 21 different characters - a domineering father, soulful mum, saucy English friend, and Islamic studies teachers whose interests range from slapping to pornography - Manzoor illuminates her conflicted sense of identity, while questioning repressive cultural norms. Moving, funny, deeply personal, and yet universal, BURQ OFF! explores what it takes to evolve past the veil.

"With the recent Maher-Affleck showdown, Islamaphobia and Islamaphobia-phobia couldn't be more real," says Director Tara Elliott. "Nadia has gotten hate mail from the believers who were once her home community, and then letters of full support from people in that same community. Every ideology has things that need to be addressed, looked at, critiqued and improved upon, and it's only going to happen with more honest dialogue and storytelling and that's exactly what happens in this powerful piece of work."

Nadia Parvez Manzoor is an actor, writer and producer. She spent her earlier years in a Pakistani Muslim home in North London and has since moved from Singapore to Dubai, from Boston to her home base in Brooklyn. In the past year, she has created and acted in the web series Shugs & Fats, which is scheduled for release this winter. She has had sold-out runs of her one woman show, Burq Off!, in New York, LA, San Francisco, and London. Manzoor graduated from Boston University with an M.A. in social work, where her passion was to merge the arts and social reform. Her one woman show, BURQ OFF!, is a manifestation of this intention. She is the founder of Paprika Productions, an all-female production company that produces works by brave, curious women.

Tara Elliott is a director, producer, writer and educator, and has been developing and producing Burq Off!! from its 'works in progress' showings through it's recent West Coast and London runs. In the past few years since moving to New York, she has been directing productions and readings of Night, Still (HERE Arts Center), Illiterates (Robert Moss Theater), The Forgotten Life of Egon Schiele (The (Un)Fair), Rise Up Singing: Women in the Labor Movement (Lehman College), Rotenburg (Dixon Place), Two Girls, One Corpse (Arts at Renaissance) Missed Connections (Player's Theater), New Men (Barrow Group) Jung Girls (Brooklyn Lyceum). Additionally she is a writer and creator of children's theater and teaches theater classes in public schools across Brooklyn. She is committed to integrating performing arts into public school curriculum and to bringing arts opportunities to underserved communities. She received a BA from Bennington College where she studied dance and theater. www.taraelliott.com

BURQ OFF! features Sound Design by Jack Randall, Lighting Design by Haejin Han, Set Design by Mitch Ost & Katja Chan-Mee Frederiksen.

Performances of BURQ OFF! are on January 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th at 8PM and 11th, 18th at 2PM.

Tickets are $25 in advance, and $30 at the door and can be purchased online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/893696, by calling 1-800-838-3006 or at the box office prior to each performance.

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