It’s been two years since Behind the Moon premiered in Toronto. Since then, it’s had only one production, in Victoria. That’s kind of nuts. This script should be getting produced across the country. So thanks to director Lois Anderson and the impeccable company of this Touchstone Theatre mounting for allowing us to experience it here.
In the story, Ayub, who has immigrated from India, is working at a restaurant called the Mughlai Moon in Toronto. Ayub’s boss Qadir presents himself as benevolence itself, assuring Ayub that he, too, can match Qadir’s level of financial success in Canada. But Qadir also has possession of Ayub’s passport — he’s had it for the last four years — and Ayub refers to Qadir as his owner. Then disruption arrives in the form of a mysterious taxi driver named Jalal who barges in one night after closing time, panicking and insisting he needs butter chicken.
Jalal tells Ayub that he has been guided there by a mystical force, his cab, which he has named Aida. Jalal also says that he can control the trembling of the tree outside. This element of magic/spirituality/whatever you want to call it adds an extraordinary level of power and lyrical texture.
Act 1 doesn’t feature huge narrative advancements or world-changing plot points but, as we try to balance our understanding of Ayub’s longing to see his wife and daughter, who are still in India, and his paralysis in his current situation, as we observe Qadir’s manipulations, and we struggle to decode Jalal’s presence, the subtleties are fascinating.
That’s largely because the script’s dynamics are so perfectly embodied by the excellent work of this three-person cast, particularly Praneet Akilla, who’s playing Ayub. Akilla never lets the relentless tension within Ayub relax. At the same time, he capitalizes on the full value of the script’s considerable comedy: having used the term okeydokey, he wonders at the nonsense of the English language: “What is okey? What is dokey?” And, as we move towards and into Act 2 and Ayub’s despair veers towards madness, Akilla hints at a physical transfiguration that’s a dark variation on Jalal’s magic.
In this perfect cast, Zahf Paroo endows Jamal with a grounding, common-sense goodness. In Act 2, Paroo delivers an aria of grief that’s both understated and very moving.
Playing the self-satisfied Qadir, Dhirendra is every bit as precise.
Big thanks to Anderson for casting so well and for her role in guiding this trio.
There were a couple of times when I thought the narrative remained suspended for too long but, when the unfolding is this rich, who really cares?
The detailed realism of Patrick Rizzotti’s set is satisfying, as is the evocative simplicity of Jonathan Kim’s lighting. Joelysa Pankanea’s sound design is like a companion on the journey, a friend who never tells you what to think or feel, but whose breathing informs your response nonetheless.
This might seem an odd way to end, but I also want to celebrate the Canadian-ness of this script and production. Yes, it speaks frankly about a brutal experience of immigration that’s not flattering to our national character. But the openness of this discussion also speaks to a more positive aspect of Canadian identity. And this story is local — local to Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, any number of Canadian centres. As Trump/Musk/Putin threaten our sovereignty, it’s important to reclaim control of — and pride in — the stories that make us who we are.
BEHIND THE MOON By Anosh Irani. Directed by Lois Anderson. A Touchstone Theatre production. In the Vancity Culture Lab at The Cultch until April 6. (tickets and information)
PHOTO CREDIT: (Photo of Zahf Paroo and Praneet Akilla by Chelsey Stuyt)
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