Performing the Uzbeki-Lebanese Border in Canada: Readings from the Postmodern Cabarets of Ali & Ali by Guillermo Verdecchia. June 30
10:15-11:45 a.m. HS XVII
Ali and Ali, two stateless refugees from Agraba, unleashed their no-holds barred assault on political fundamentalisms of all kinds in their first show The aXes of Evil. Now, they have a new show, an optimistic tribute to The Black President whose middle name is Hussein, and it features a chorus of African-American revolutionaries and Canada's finest yellow actor. They can't wait to perform it for you, but first it seems the police have some questions they'd like answered. Ali & Ali: The Deportation Hearings turns to Canada's foreign policy this time, with surprising results - “the smartest Canadian political play of the 21 century” (Vancouver Province) and “the funniest exposition of American foreign policy ever devised” (Seattle Post-Intelligence).
Guillermo Verdecchia teaches Theatre Studies at the University of Toronto and is one of the most exciting contemporary Canadian theatre artists. He works as a playwright, director, and actor. Among his plays are The Noam Chomsky Lectures (1990), Fronteras Americanas/American Borders (1993), and Ali & Ali and the Axes of Evil (2004) as well as its recent sequel Ali & Ali 7: Hey Brother (OR Sister) Can You Spare Some Hope And Change? (2010)
Students can find the text of the first Ali play at eCampus with the lecture British and Postcolonial Literatures and Cultures.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Barbara Schmidt-Haberkamp
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