The Burqa Master

Play

New Work
Writers: Cid Andrenelli

Overview

Show Information

Category
Play
Number of Acts
1
First Produced
2005
Genres
Drama, Dark Comedy, Satire
Settings
Unit/Single Set
Time & Place
Any large city in the USA or UK, Present Day
Cast Size
large
Ideal for
College/University, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre
Casting Notes
Mostly male cast
Includes mature adult, adult, late teen, young adult characters

Synopsis

The Burqa master is a paradoxical drama following the lives of an Iranian father and son exiled in the West. The old man, a diabetic sugar addict is lost between the mosque and Turkish delight. He shoots up insulin passing from stupor and self-pity to holy fervor, crashing about, shouting sermons and dropping syringes around the house. His son Hamid, living the Muslim paradise here and now, tries to humor his father by working in the family shop and taking part in the dawn prayers accompanied by Muezzin chants on the ghetto blaster. But Hamid also has a secret life recruiting female shop clients to sex sessions. Disguised as a widow in a burqa he gives 'English lessons' to these Muslim housewives in the privacy of their bedrooms, while their husbands happily pay. The precarious harmony between father and son is destroyed by a series of accidents which are farcical yet tragic, causing the old man to relive a dark secret buried in his faded memories.

Lead Characters


The Burqa Master guide sections