In Islamic religion, Muslim men who die as "believers" are
rewarded with 72 beautiful perpetual virgins as wives
in heaven. These women are known as houris. In Emina Ashman's Make Me A
Houri, two women who meet in the afterlife begin to question and confront
how religion and society view and use their bodies and their spirits.
Ashman creates some moving poetry with her story of these two women as they
come to grapple with their own desire and the expectations placed upon them. Regardless
how confronting the topics discussed are, through her considered and open dialogue, she allows the audience to lower their guard and be drawn into what
is transpiring. Where this story comes up short is that the characters are
largely unchanged throughout it. There is no build up to anything climatic or
revelatory and the women remain static as they recall personal experiences
that lead into deeper philosophical analysis.
Based on interviews with gay refugees, Elegy is an emotionally powerful story of a young gay Iraqi man fleeing from persecution in search of a better life. Presented by independent theatre company Lab Kelpie, Elegy is a Midusmma Festival premiere event that should be on everyone's 'must see' list. The play, inspired by first-person accounts by
photo-journalist Bradley Secker is paired with an exhibition by Secker of said photos, which allows the audience to build on what we are seeing on stage and create a greater sense of authenticity and honesty.
"There was such an immense sense of emotion I felt after reading the story. I
still have difficulty reading the script at times," co-producer Adam Fawcett says. "This story grabs you by the
heartstrings with its capacity to explore love against the harsh reality of
life in the Middle East for LGBTI people. The fact that it is based on real
people made it all the more powerful for me. As soon
as we both finished reading it, we knew we wanted to produce it."
