Rinabeth Apostol and Denmo Ibrahim in A Thousand Splendid Suns (Nate Watters) |
A Thousand Splendid
Suns
Seattle Repertory Theatre
Through November 10, 2018
TW: There is a peculiar difficulty for people (mainly
female) who might want to see A Thousand
Splendid Suns, the masterfully mounted co-production with San Francisco’s American
Conservatory Theatre, which opened Wednesday at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Many
hearts are torn and weeping from current politics, and this piece is likely to
exacerbate that pain.
This is one of the most stunning pieces of theatricality to
grace our stages – and for that reason, it would really be a shame if you miss
it. It is a beautifully told tale with gorgeous technical aspects,
top-of-their-game acting, and a sensitive adaptation by Ursula Rani Sarma of
Khaled Hosseini’s book. The production is absolutely one of the highest level
theatrical experiences one can have.
The story, however, is almost unrelentingly bleak. It
accurately reflects women’s experiences in most of the world, even though it
focuses on two women in Afghanistan around the time the Taliban take-over. Every
horrible event in a woman’s life that you can imagine happens in this play. And
then some.