The dilemma isn't new, but it gets a powerful spin from El Guindi. Like it or not, what these "enemies" produce has an impact beyond what they intend, especially during these unstable times.
Though long passages of El Guindi's script amount to a debate on the issues, the show never feels dry because the playwright leavens that debate with humor, sex, and a healthy dose of both intellectually and emotionally honest ambivalence.
Chicago Free Press By Louis Weisberg March 6, 2008
Despite the weightiness of the material, El Guindi’s fluid story-telling skills, his delicious sense of irony and his bristling dialogue—hurled about the stage with pinpoint accuracy by an excellent ensemble—make this riveting entertainment.
This is a well written story of love, lust, hate, fear and a look at the Arab-American community that we do not often get a glimpse into, so besides being excellent theater, it is also a learning experience of a culture that we need to be aware of in the United States.
Riddled with political and social ambivalence, ripe with sophistication and full of deliciously playable scenes and sharply etched characters (including one of the finest roles for a woman in recent memory), Yussef El Guindi's "Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat," is smart, vivid theater that also should be the catalyst for a great deal of animated post-show conversation.
[This] world premiere of “Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat” reveals an exceedingly smart, sophisticated and compelling exploration of Arab-American identity and the opportunities as well as the perils of assimilation.
Our Enemies is a nicely written, fine acted play filled with vivid characters, some humor and lots of sexy action. Who says a play of ideas has to be dull? Not here. El Guindi is a talented storyteller with a keen eye for characterization.