"The Cry of the Reed": Central to the Play is Faith

By Iris Fanger, "THEATER REVIEW: Religion, relationships have a place in ‘The Cry of the Reed’" - The Patriot Ledger - Quincy, MA, USA
Friday, April 11, 2008

Boston: Turkish-American playwright Sinan Unel’s drama about the Middle-Eastern conflict, ``The Cry of the Reed,'' is as complex and confusing as the events of the Iraqi War, but in its mirroring of reality it is impossible to forget.

Despite some speechifying and overwriting, the play has been served by a fine production, directed by Daniel Goldstein who has gathered an excellent cast led by the distinguished, Turkish-born actress, Cigdem Onat.

The plot follows two stories, the first about a pair of journalists, the Canadian, Philip (Darren Pettie), and the Turkish-American woman, Sevgi (Lisa Birnbaum), who are kidnapped by Muslim extremists.

The scenes of Philip and Sevgi’s captivity are played out at stage right while we follow the second story opposite, where Sevgi’s American lover has come for help to her mother, Ayla, a Sufi leader.

Eugene Lee’s masterful stage design of ruined doors that open for entrances and exits enhances the rough action of the play.

Ayla is a follower of the 13th century mystic poet, Jalal al-Din Rumi, who preached the practice of love. The brutality of certain scenes, in contrast to the conversations in Ayla’s home, are framed by whirling dervishes, who believe they connect into the universe by their mystical spinning.

The Sufi religion, one aspect of Islam, is based on tolerance and a oneness with God. In contrast, the terrorists of Unel’s play are men who care nothing for life, nor for the lives of those they consider infidels, i.e. non-Muslims. They excuse their excesses, including beheading of the captured men and women, as acts in defense of their religion.

Central to the play is faith and how it is claimed as exclusive property by the various religions that divide the human race.

Ayla has come to faith after a heart-rending loss, leaving behind her life and marriage for the peace she has found in Rumi’s teachings. Sevgi and Josh are atheists, relying on their own desires to steer them. Philip is part-Jewish, which makes his capture especially dangerous.

One additional plot strand is the estrangement of mother and daughter. Sevgi and Ayla have not communicated for more than 10 years when the play begins.

Unfortunately, much of the dialogue is given over to speech-making. The people on stage tend to talk at each other, until one wonders who is listening. Unel also emphasizes one personality trait in each of them, Josh’s dependence on loving Sevgi; Sevgi's self-centeredness, Ayla’s deaf ear to cries for help.

The exception, and the most appealing person on stage, is Hakan, the reformed thief, who has dedicated his life to Ayla, his redeemer. Actor Amir Arison gives him a sense of humor about himself, and an ingratiating manner of dedication to the people he loves, as well as a human flaw that he takes delight in revealing.

As Ayla, Onat has the most difficult role, which she brings to life in moving fashion by the second act when she becomes a woman bereft at the prospect of losing her daughter. Pettie delivers a striking performance as a man who is alternately disciplined and brave until he breaks under his torture. Birnbaum could be less shrill as the young woman no longer in control.

The ending brings neither safety nor resolution, not unlike the dilemma we as a nation face by our presence in the Middle East.

Unel has worked too much from the headlines. However, by the second act climax of his play, one could not help but be engrossed by his vision.

THE CRY OF THE REED at the Stanford Calderwood Pavillion , Boston Center for the Arts, presented by The Huntington Theatre Company; through May 3. Tickets $15-$55. 617-266-0800 or http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/index.aspx

[Picture: From left, Sevgi (Lisa Birnbaum) and Philip (Darren Pettie) bid their time under the watchful eye of an Iraqi insurgent (Rafi Silver) who watches their every move in the Huntington Theatre Company's World Premiere production of "The Cry of the Reed" by Sinan Ünel. Photo by T. Charles Erickson].