GKV: I have always been wary of the Fringe - what makes you want to bring your show here?
So I can air my dirty lingerie on another continent of course!
With the success of the play Dirty Paki Lingerie with sold out runs in New York City as well as Toronto, I want to bring the show to a wider International audience. It's an honor to be part of the largest theater festival in the world.
My European friends in NYC were insistent that I take the show to Europe. They thought it was timely, and the sort of politically intelligent show audiences in Europe would just eat up. I wanted to test out this theory, and what better way to find out then to perform for a month at the largest theater festival
in the world.
GKV: The title is pretty provocative...
The show is a whirlwind of personalities that will offend, make you laugh out loud, give you the rough stuff you want, and then finally cuddle your inner child.
GKV: And do you have a serious intent behind the headline grabbing title?
What makes this show stand out is that it transcends cultural boundaries, and allows people from all walks of life to see themselves in the specific stories of these six Pakistani American Muslim females. In so doing, it humanizes Muslims.
We are human after all; we only sell our second born to the devil. It also gives a much needed voice in the arts to the female Muslim American experience.
GKV: How important is the balance between comedy and seriousness in the piece?
Being a Muslim female, I couldn’t think of a better weapon than comedy to show people the sexier side of American Muslims. Yes, contrary to what you might believe, there is a sexier side to American Muslims. But you’ll have to come see the show to find out what it looks like.
Growing up as part of a Pakistani community in the U.S, I found it hilarious when Pakistani moms would comb through Urdu Newspaper matrimonials for their children. Some of these moms are natural born sales people. Yet they have never been given the opportunity to workoutside the home. One of the characters in the show was inspired by so many older women I knew who would do this sort of thing. You haveto be able to laugh at yourself to gain a deeper understanding, and hopefully to make a change for the better.
The challenge with writing a play that talks about politics, religion,racial profiling, bullying, sexuality, culture vs. tradition, and identity is that it can be easy to fall into the trap of sounding too preachy. The play tackles all these issues with humor, and that is what allows people to connect with the characters and makes it a successful piece.
The dirty Paki muse in her lingerie came to me and I just couldn’t say no. Actually, I knew all these remarkable women, and felt compelled to tell their stories. I also wanted to combat the growing Islamophobic sentiment
in the US where people are opposing building of Islamic community centers and mosques.
I thought if I can show people how similar the Muslim American community is to any other community, then it should help break down some barriers.
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