Khoury and the playwrights and directors involved with Semitic Commonwealth envision the festival not as an end in itself, but as the start of a conversation... The festival’s creators don’t think it’s too idealistic to expect plays to have an effect on policy.
Read More[Silk Road Rising's] upcoming series, "Semitic Commonwealth," featuring six plays by Arab and Jewish playwrights, explores the human themes of identity, occupation, home, and exile that underscore both sides of the conflict’s human toll.
Read MoreIn curating the pieces [for Semitic Commonwealth], Jamil Khoury was more concerned with examining the humanity behind the conflict, rather than focusing the discussion on "rooting for one's team."
Read MoreThe production currently occupying the basement black box at the Chicago Temple clocks in at three hours with an intermission, but flows so smoothly from locale to locale as to render textual excision all but impossible... Look for this ambitious project to continue on long after its immediate run.
Read MoreTanika Gupta’s eye-opening reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic reveals new depths to this tale of rags to riches. Recommended!
Read MoreDespite the story’s epic length, nothing is superfluous and nothing drags. On top of providing a multi-faced look at the British Empire’s legacy of unequal cultural interactions, it is an exciting adventure and a moving character study.
Read MoreWhat stuns is how perfectly Dickens’ story translates into this setting, finding new textures of meaning along the way.
Read MoreThe concept as a whole is successful. Pip’s transformation is relatable to modern America, where immigrants feel the need to become more American....The collaboration between Silk Road Rising and Remy Bumppo Theatre looks to be in sync, and hopefully they can continue to produce more works together.
Read MoreThe change of scenery illuminates facets of the story in new ways...There are strong supporting turns in the large cast—primarily Anish Jethmalani's compassionate Joe, Netta Walker's chilly Estella and Linda Gillum's decrepit Miss Havisham.
Read MoreA stalwart cast...led by an artfully naive Anand Bhatt as Pip, a delightfully grotesque Linda Gillum as Miss Havisham, a drearily upright Roderick Peeples as Jaggers, and a charismatically frigid Netta Walker as Estella...the show is full of carefully etched performances and well-shaped dramatic arcs.
Read MoreBrilliantly co-directed by Lavina Jadhwani and Nick Sandys, ['Great Expectations'] feels as if it was always meant to take place in Colonial India. Staged with sensitivity and passion... this production is as captivating as it is fascinating.
Read MoreHighly Recommended! The direction is superb. This is a solid production that has blended two theater companies flawlessly into one for a special production of a special play, 'Great Expectations' in a unique and different platform, giving an old classic a new and wonderful look.
Read MoreA marriage made in theater heaven. Remy Bumppo/Silk Road Rising's replenished offering renews Dickens' social criticism through Gupta's cultural critique...A three-hour treasure.
Read MoreGupta's concept for 'Great Expectations' is brilliant...[a] revelatory version of the original whose time is now.
Read MoreIt's entirely clear from Remy Bumppo and Silk Road Rising'sambitious and intelligent co-production of Gupta's sprawling adaptation that Dickens grafts well in the soil of the subcontinent.
Read MoreJadhwani says this production is “ocular proof” that large coproductions can be done successfully. She hopes that the “cross-pollination of artists and audiences” compels more companies to take greater risks.
Read MoreFive skilled actors enact post World War II Japanese brides of Americans – facing military prejudice, leaving home, crossing the ocean, enduring 20 years in Kansas.
Read MoreWith its gripping story revolving around a cast of intriguing characters, Great Expectations has long been a popular vehicle for adaptation on stage, film and television.
Read MoreJamil Khoury knows a good proposal when he hears one. And Khoury, co-founder and artistic director of Silk Road Rising in Chicago, heard what he believed was a winning pitch from fellow theater artist Nick Sandys.
Read MoreTransplanted in Calcutta in a colonial India, this tale of aspiration, intrigue, and romance features Indian orphan Pip, played by Anand Bhatt, and a cast of multi-ethnic characters.
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