Stage Door News
Stage Door News
(Toronto, ON)
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. A limited run of only 4 shows will be presented March 18-21, 2015 at Small World Music, 180 Shaw 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 Charlie Hebdo tragedy and the ongoing fear that ISIS/ISIL instil, 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 theatre and teaches theatre 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 theatre. www.taraelliott.com
Sound Design by Jack Randall, Lighting Design by Haejin Han, Set Design by Mitch Ost & Katja Chan-Mee Frederiksen.
Paprika Productions in collaboration with Small World Music and Why Not Theatre presents
The Toronto Premiere of
Burq Off!
Written & Performed by Nadia Parvez Manzoor
A Humorous & Insightful One-Woman Play about
Shaking Off Shame and Navigating the Complexities of Life as a Modern Muslim Woman in the West
Limited Engagement! March 18-21, 2015
Small World Music, 180 Shaw St.
Tickets are $25 in advance, and can be purchased online at http://smallworldmusic.com/shows/burq-off/ , by calling 416-536-5439, or at the box office prior to each performance.
Photo: Nadia Parvez Manzoor. ©2014 Adam Reichardt.
2015-02-24
Toronto: Paprika Productions presents the Toronto premiere of "Burq Off!" March 18-21