Jackalope Theatre presents the United States Premiere of DUMMY IN DIASPORA.
Essa was born in America. He is the son of Middle Eastern refugees. His childhood has been besmirched by parents forced out of their homelands. As he grapples with his identity, he questions his American birthright, Middle Eastern ancestry, sexual orientation and nicotine addiction. Writer and Performer Esho Rasho comes of age and comes out in this personal discovery of identity.
Rasho debuts his one man show after a successful run at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival. He has the audience engaged from his first vape puff. He sits up from smoking on the couch to begin sharing his origin story. Rasho draws the crowd in with a conspiratorial wait-until-you-hear-this tone. He then divulges family secrets, amusing mishaps and pivotal moments of enlightenment. His tales often end with his face lit up and eyes wide in amused disbelief. Very early in the show, it’s obvious Rasho is a charmer!
The show teeters somewhere between a stand-up routine and a play. Rasho acts every bit like a comedian as he starts an anecdote and then shifts it to deliver an unexpected punchline. The resulting laughter is often subject to the youth-centric content. Some audience members will find it uproarious, others might be more amused. His comedic monologue is peppered with a series of reenactments from his teen years. And Rasho impressively plays all the parts… his mom, dad, first crush, drug dealer, etc. In one scene, he is sweeping while arguing with his mom about taking a wife. In another scene, Rasho is unabashedly flirting with a boy. His ability to shift from character to character is remarkable.
Director Karina Patel effectively uses the Persian rug-draped set (Designer Olivia Volk) to move the story from home to car to club. It keeps most of the transitions tight. Patel does insert blackouts and sounds (like CTA train announcements) that seem superfluous and distracting. It might have been where I was sitting but I had trouble hearing some of Rasho’s delivery… especially his punchlines. The storytelling also isn’t in chronological order. The zig-zagging timeline is a little challenging to follow.
Still, Rasho is a true charismatic showman! He is a pure delight!! DUMMY IN DIASPORA is an entertaining identity exploration.
Running Time: Seventy minutes with no intermission
At Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N. Broadway
Written and performed by Esho Rasho
Directed by Karina Patel
Performances are:
Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 7:30pm
Sundays at 2pm
Thru March 23
For more information or tickets
Production photos by Joel Maisonet
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