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Theatre Calgary’s Play Guides and InterACTive Learning Program
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The Play Guide for A Thousand Splendid Suns was created by:
Jenna Turk
Artistic Associate
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A Thousand Splendid Suns runs from March 7 to April 1, 2017
For tickets, visit theatrecalgary.com or call (403) 294-7447
Front cover design by Punch & Judy Inc. with photo by Cylla von
Tiedemann and calligraphy by Sughra Hussainy
Table of Contents
THE BASICS
The Company 1
Who’s Who? 3
The Story 4
A Synopsis 4
EXPLORATIONS
An Interview with Novelist Khaled Hosseini and Playwright
Ursula Rani Sarma 6
Terms to Know 10
The Title’s Inspiration 14
A.C.T. 16
CONVERSATIONS
Conversation Starters 17
Inside the World of A Thousand Splendid Suns 18
A celebration of the Female Spirit 22
Movie Night 24
Recommended Reads from Calgary Public Library 25
Sources 27
THE BASICS 1
The Company
Max Bell Theatre at Arts Commons March 7 to April 1, 2017
presents the World Premiere production from American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), San Francisco
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
Adapted by URSULA RANI SARMA
Based on the novel by KHALED HOSSEINI
Original music written and performed by DAVID COULTER
Directed by CAREY PERLOFF
Set Design KEN MACDONALD
Costume Design LINDA CHO
Lighting Design ROBERT WIERZEL
Sound Design JAKE RODRIGUEZ
Movement Director STEPHEN BUESCHER
Dramaturg MICHAEL PALLER
Casting Director JANET FOSTER, CSA
Cultural Consultant HUMAIRA GHILZAI
Assistant Director KIMBERLY MOHNE HILL
Assistant Lighting Design ANDREW GRIFFIN
Dialect Coach NANCY BENJAMIN
Fight Consultant JONATHAN RIDER
A Thousand Splendid Suns is the recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.
The development of this play was made possible by the Priscilla and Keith Geeslin New Strands Fund and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Fund for New Works. This project is also
supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
THE BASICS 2
THE CAST (in order of appearance)
Babi BARZIN AKHAVAN Laila NADINE MALOUF Fariba DENMO IBRAHIM Rasheed HAYSAM KADRI Mariam KATE RIGG Abdul Sharif JASON KAPOOR Tariq POMME KOCH Mullah Faizullah BARZIN AKHAVAN Nana DENMO IBRAHIM Jalil JASON KAPOOR Wakil JASON KAPOOR Interrogator BARZIN AKHAVAN Aziza NIKITA TEWANI Doctor DENMO IBRAHIM Zalmai MIKA’IL MAMDANI Zaman BARZIN AKHAVAN Talib HAYSAM KADRI Ensemble JESSE LYNN ANDERSON
LINDA KEE TREVOR MATHESON BEHRAD MOSHTAGH
Stage Manager ELISA GUTHERTZ Assistant Stage Manager JUSTIN BORN
Head of Lighting CATHARINE CRUMB Head of Sound CHRIS JACKO Head Stage Carpenter SCOTT MORRIS Wardrobe & Wig Master RON SIEGMUND Assistant Head Dresser RACHEL MICHELLE SHERIDAN Dressers JULI ELKIW, KATIE KLINGVALL Stage Hands TESS COWIE, ANDREW KERR Chaperone RYAN WESLEY GRAY
Understudies
DENMO IBRAHIM (Mariam), JASON KAPOOR (Rasheed), POMME KOCH (Talib)
Cameras and audio/visual recording devices are not permitted in the theatre. Video and audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.
A Thousand Splendid Suns has one 20-minute intermission.
All cast (except Messers. Kadri, Born, Mamdani, Matheson, Moshtagh, and Mses. Anderson, Kee)
are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. Mr. Kadri and Mr. Born are members of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.
THE BASICS 3
Who’s Who?
(in order of appearance)
Babi: Laila’s father, in his forties
Laila: 14 years-old at the beginning of the play, daughter to Babi and
Fariba; beautiful
Fariba: Laila’s mother, 40 years-old, broken-hearted
Rasheed: Mariam’s husband, a shoemaker
Mariam: She appears both as a young girl and in her mid-thirties as the
worn out, wife to Rasheed
Abdul Sharif: A man posing as a business man to trick Laila.
Tariq: 17 years-old at the beginning of the play, a family friend of Laila’s
with a prosthetic leg
Mullah Faizullah: A man in his 50’s, Mariam’s teacher
Nana: Mariam’s mother
Jalil: Mariam’s father, a wealthy man
Wakil: A man at the Lahore bus station that Laila asks for help
Interrogator: A man questioning Laila and Mariam
Aziza: Laila’s daughter (her first-born child), appears as a baby, at 9
years-old, and at 12 years-old
Doctor: She delivers Zalmai
Zalmai: Laila’s son, 5 years-old
Zaman: He runs the orphanage/school that Aziza attends
Talib: A member of the Taliban
THE BASICS 4
The Story
Based on the bestselling novel by the author of The Kite Runner, this
hauntingly beautiful story reveals the strength of the human spirit. In
war-torn Afghanistan, two women are brought together by fate and
cruelty. Together they will forge an unlikely friendship that leads to an act
of unbreakable love.
A Synopsis
Set in Afghanistan, A Thousand Splendid Suns follows the journey of young
Laila from 1992 to 1999. Orphaned at fourteen when her parents are killed
by a bomb in Kabul, Laila is taken in by a neighbor, Rasheed, and his wife
Mariam. But Mariam isn’t terribly excited at the prospect of Rasheed
taking on a second wife, especially one so young. Nonetheless, Rasheed
marries Laila. Unfortunately, as time passes Rasheed reveals himself to be
a violent, angry man who takes out his frustrations on the two women.
Laila gives birth to a daughter, Aziza, who is then shunned by Rasheed
(for he wanted a son), and Laila and Mariam begin to care for the girl
together. They try to escape, but are deceived by a stranger at the bus
station and are forced to return home and face the wrath of Rasheed.
Time passes and Laila gives birth again, this time to a son, Zalmai. While
he is cherished by his father, the rest of his family suffers. The Taliban are
in power and living conditions have worsened, so Aziza is sent away to
THE BASICS 5
school under the guise that she is an orphan. A childhood friend, Tariq,
returns to find Laila, and it is revealed that they were in fact lovers: Aziza
is not Rasheed’s child, but Tariq’s. Enraged, Rasheed lashes out at Laila,
and Mariam steps in, but Rasheed is intent on killing Laila. Desperate to
save her, Mariam grabs a shovel and kills him.
Laila and the children flee to start a new life with Tariq while Mariam
remains, sacrificing herself, as she knows someone must pay for Rasheed’s
death. In the end, the bond Laila and Mariam share is an inspiring
example of the power of love.
The set of A Thousand Splendid Suns designed by Ken MacDonald (Photo by Kevin Berne)
“Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure.”
–Rumi
EXPLORATIONS 6
An Interview with Playwright Ursula Rani Sarma
and Novelist Khaled Hosseini
Ursula Rani Sarma Khaled Hosseini (Photo by Helen Warner) (Photo by Elena Seibert)
Strong women dominate the work of award-winning playwright,
poet, and screenwriter Ursula Rani Sarma. So it is no surprise
that she was drawn to the story of Mariam and Laila, the two
women at the center of A Thousand Splendid Suns. It is Khaled
Hosseini’s second of his three novels, the other two being And
the Mountains Echoed (2013) and The Kite Runner (2003).
Hosseini was inspired to write A Thousand Splendid Suns after
visiting Afghanistan and speaking with the strong women who
live in a country where their rights are often oppressed.
Simon Hodgson and Shannon Stockwell spoke with Sarma and
Hosseini about their experience working on this adaptation.
Why is A Thousand Splendid Suns particularly suited for the stage?
URSULA RANI SARMA: The theatre is one of the best mediums to
explore complex human relationships like the ones at the center of A
EXPLORATIONS 7
Thousand Splendid Suns. Like the novel, it is the relationship between
Mariam and Laila – trapped in a violent home, reaching out to each other
– that forms the spine of the play. The difference is that on the stage, the
characters will take on a three-dimensional existence while an audience
bears witness to their extraordinary journey.
KHALED HOSSEINI: I think there’s a sense of immediacy in theatre,
which simply can’t be created elsewhere. On the right night and at the
right performance and with the right crowd, the room is permeated with
something that’s really tangible – very difficult to describe, but very
powerful. There’s a collective experience that you have with an audience
in the theatre that is difficult to create anywhere else. And by contrast, I
think reading a book is a solitary experience.
A.C.T. students rehearse A Thousand Splendid Suns (Photo by Elspeth Sweatman)
What kind of conversations have you had with each other throughout the process?
URS: I spoke with Khaled early on in the process, as it was important to
hear his hopes for the adaptation and any specific elements that he felt
should be retained. Right from the beginning Khaled was very supportive
and generous and he encouraged me to follow my instincts and do
EXPLORATIONS 8
whatever I felt was right. This was hugely liberating and meant that I had
the freedom to get beneath the skin of the novel and to make the story feel
as though it were my own; something that had to happen for me to
breathe life into these characters.
KH: As an author, if you’re allowing your work to be adapted into
another art form by somebody else, you should divorce yourself from the
idea that anything you said or wrote is going to appear in the other
format. It’s far more interesting to get a peek into somebody else’s
interpretation of your work.
The cast of A Thousand Splendid Suns (A.C.T.) (Photo by Kevin Berne)
What is this play about?
URS: It’s about the immense strength and endurance of women and how
they can survive tremendous suffering to keep those they love alive. It is
also about how, even in the darkest of times and places, love can grow
and sustain the human spirit beyond all pain and hardship. It’s about
friendship and loyalty, courage and selflessness, grief and violence.
EXPLORATIONS 9
Why is this story important to tell today?
KH: I think a story like A Thousand Splendid Suns can remind people that
every person under a veil, every refugee walking across plains – every
single one of those people has a universe inside them, a life, an entire
history, and a long, long history of things that they wanted, of hopes that
they had. I think that’s important to understand: You can’t just categorize
people under self-serving umbrellas. These are individual human beings. I
think that’s what any art form, be it theatre or novels or movies, can do;
they can bridge that gap and transport you into the shoes of somebody
else. And through that experience, you begin to view the group in a richer
way.
PLEASE NOTE: This interview has been edited from its original form, The
Universe of the Human Spirit, as it first appeared in American Conservatory
Theater’s performance program for its 2017 production of A Thousand
Splendid Suns.
Haysam Kadri as Rasheed, Kate Rigg as Mariam, and Nadine Malouf as Laila
(Photo by Kevin Berne)
EXPLORATIONS 10
Terms to Know
(in alphabetical order)
The official languages of Afghanistan are Dari and Pashto. Dari,
the Afghan dialect of Farsi or Persian, is the first language of
about half of the population and the second language of many
more. Pashto, the native language of the Pashtun people, is the
first language of around 40% of Afghans and 15% of Pakistanis.
Both Dari and Pashto are part of the Indo-European language
family and are written in Arabic script – but the two languages
are not mutually intelligible. Since Afghanistan is an Islamic
country, speakers of both languages also use Arabic words and
phrases in their daily speech.
Afghani: The official currency of Afghanistan.
Allah’s will: God’s will.
Azan: The Islamic call to prayer.
Babaloo Prayers: Family prayers traditionally spoken by the head of the
household.
Baby Musa: This refers to Prophet Musa (Moses) whose mother is said to
have sent him down the Nile as an infant to save him from danger. The
river carried him to the Egyptian Pharaoh’s’ lands where he was saved.
Biwa: A widow.
Burqa: An enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic
traditions to cover themselves in public.
Caesarian: An alternative method to giving birth vaginally that involves
cutting through the walls of the abdomen and uterus for delivery.
Dehati: A villager from somewhere rural.
EXPLORATIONS 11
Dostum: Refers to Abdul Rashid Dostum who was a general in the
Afghan army during the Soviet War and was an independent warlord and
leader fighting the Taliban. In 2013 he apologized for his role in the civil
war.
Dozd: Thief.
Halwa: Generally considered a dessert, but can either be flour-based
(usually more gelatinous) or nut-butter-based (often crumbly).
Hamshira: Sister; this term may also be used formally when addressing
strangers.
Harami: A derogatory term for someone born out of wedlock; a child
with no father.
Hashish: A recreational drug that is part of the cannabis family.
Afghanistan is the leading producer of it in the world.
Hekmatyar: Refers to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar a politician and warlord
who was the Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1993-1994 and then
again in 1996. He is known to many as the “Butcher of Kabul.”
Herat: The third-largest city in Afghanistan situated in the valley of the
Hari River.
Jan: Dear.
Kabul: The capital of Afghanistan and its largest city, located in the east.
Khala: Aunt.
Khastegar: A suitor.
Kolba: A small shack or hut; a crude shelter.
Koran: The central religious text of Islam which Muslims believe to be a
revelation from God.
EXPLORATIONS 12
Lahore: Located in Pakistan near the border of India, it is the capital of
the province of Punjab.
Malika: Queen.
Massoud: Refers to Abdul Shah Massoud a political and military leader.
He fought the Taliban as the head of the United Islamic Front for the
Salvation of Afghanistan, but was assassinated by a suicide bomber just
days before 9/11.
Mujahideen: Guerrilla military outlets; Muslim-Afghan warriors.
Mullah: An educated Muslim trained in religious law and doctrine.
Namaz Prayers: Prayers of Islam performed 5 times daily.
Noor: A nickname meaning “light.”
Pashtun: The largest ethnic group in Afghanistan.
Peshawar: Located in Pakistan near the border of Afghanistan, it is the
capital of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pir Penjal: A mountain range in the Inner Himalayan region.
Rabbani: Refers to Burhanuddin Rabbani who was the President of the
Islamic State of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996 and fought against the
Taliban. He was killed in his home by a suicide bomber in 2011.
Sabzi: An Iranian herb stew.
Soviets: Members of the Soviet Union’s army who invaded Afghanistan
and assumed communist control from 1979-1989.
Tajik: Refers to people from Tajikistan, but Rasheed uses it pejoratively,
as an insult. He insinuates Laila is privileged, as the Tajiks are known to
be settled land owners.
Volga & Benz: The Volga is a brand of automobile that originated in the
Soviet Union. It represents communism and functionality; they were often
EXPLORATIONS 13
used as taxi cabs. The Benz refers to the automobile manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz whose products are globally known as symbols of style
and luxury.
Watan: Land or country.
Zahmat: Trouble.
Theatre Calgary’s poster image for A Thousand Splendid Suns (Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann; Art Direction and Graphic Design by Punch & Judy Inc.)
EXPLORATIONS 14
The Title’s Inspiration
The title of Khaled Hosseini’s novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns,
comes from a poem called Kabul by Saib-e-Tabrizi, a 17th century
Persian poet. It could be considered the book and the play’s
epigram. The following English translation is by Dr. Josephine
Davis
Kabul
Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains
And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies
Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes
But I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dust
My song exalts her dazzling tulips
And at the beauty of her trees, I blush
How sparkling the water flows from Pul-I-Mastaan!
May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man!
Khizr chose the path to Kabul in order to reach Paradise
For her mountains brought him close to the delights of heaven
From the fort with sprawling walls, A Dragon of protection
Each stone is there more precious than the treasure of Shayagan
Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls
Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers
Her nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hair
Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs
Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats
And I, I sing in the gardens of Jahanara, of Sharbara
And even the trumpets of heaven envy their green pastures
EXPLORATIONS 15
Our poster for the production features four lines from Kabul in
calligraphy – the same four lines that are recited by Laila’s father
in the play:
"Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls"
The poster’s creator Scott McKowen (of Punch and Judy Inc.)
wanted to use the text, but needed someone who was skilled in
in nastaliq – the most prevalent calligraphy style in Afghanistan
– to do it properly. An Arabic calligrapher in Washington
suggested Sughra Hussainy, an Afghan artist, to do the work.
Without a shared language, Scott and Sughra communicated via
a translator (who insisted on giving his commission to Sughra)
scanning the images back and forth. It was a true collaboration
and Theatre Calgary couldn’t be happier with the end result!
Sughra Hussainy working on the calligraphy for the poster illustration
(Photos by Josh Berer)
EXPLORATIONS 16
A.C.T.
American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.) is a
Tony Award-winning non-profit theatre
based in downtown San Francisco where they
operate two theatres, the Geary Theatre (a
grand historic stage with 1,025 seats) and
the Strand Theatre (a brand new state of the
art space with 283 seats), as well as run a
three-year conservatory Master of Fine Arts
Program with over 3,000 students.
A.C.T. opened its doors in 1967 and for the last 24 seasons has
been under the leadership of Artistic Director Carey Perloff (and
director of A Thousand Splendid Suns). A.C.T. is known for fresh
productions of classical
works and new translations
of contemporary stories.
They also have an affinity for
producing cross-disciplinary
performances and celebrate
international collaborations.
Theatre Calgary first worked with A.C.T. in 2011 with Tosca Cafe
and again in 2014 with George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara. A
Thousand Splendid Suns marks our third collaboration in what
has been a fruitful creative partnership.
The cast of A Thousand Splendid Suns (A.C.T.)
(Photo by Kevin Berne)
CONVERSATIONS 17
Conversation Starters
What do you think brought Laila and Mariam together?
What does friendship mean to you?
Have you read Khaled Hosseini’s novel of the same name?
How did the play differ? What changes were necessary to adapt it for
the stage?
Which character did you identify with and why?
Which character could you least identify with and why not?
Was Rasheed a “bad” man? How did his circumstances affect his
behaviour?
Was it difficult for you to watch this play? Why or why not?
Are you playing a part in the fight for equal rights?
Is there anything you can do to help women and children who are so
far away from you?
Do you think this story is an important one to tell? For what reasons?
Why do you think Khaled Hosseini chose the title, A Thousand Splendid
Suns?
“Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure.”
–Rumi
CONVERSATIONS 18
Inside the World of A Thousand Splendid Suns
By Elspeth Sweatman
The characters of Mariam, Laila, and Rasheed may have begun their
fictional journey in the mind of author Khaled Hosseini, but their
personalities are rooted firmly in their native Afghanistan. Approximately
the size of Texas, Afghanistan is a land of extreme beauty and extreme
geographic diversity, ranging from towering mountains to expansive
plains to barren deserts. Winters there are harsh, and summers sweltering.
In this dramatic landscape live 32.5 million Afghans, a mixture of
religions, languages, and ethnicities.
Map of Afghanistan
(Infographics via A.C.T. San Francisco)
Kabul’s location on the Silk Road between Europe and the riches of the
East, combined with the country’s abundance of natural resources, has
made Afghanistan an enticing prospect for many foreign invaders:
CONVERSATIONS 19
Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Great Britain, and, most recently, the
Soviet Union. In 1979, the Soviets sent troops into Afghanistan to prop up
a failing socialist government, but they were ill-prepared for the ferocious
response of the Afghan people. When the Soviet troops withdrew in 1989,
Afghans were hopeful that life would return to normal.
Sher Darwaza, Kabul, Afghanistan (Photo by Christopher Killalea)
However, many of the militant groups that had fought the Soviets –
known as the Mujahideen – turned against each other. The nation
descended into civil war. One group shelled Kabul from the surrounding
hills, while others fought for control of neighborhoods. The Afghan Civil
War (1989–96) took the lives of 25,000 civilians. It is during this dangerous
period that Ursula Rani Sarma’s adaptation of A Thousand Splendid Suns
begins.
Into this bloodshed burst a new group that looked like the answer to
many Afghans’ prayers for peace: the Taliban. Spreading from the refugee
camps in Pakistan in the early 1990s, the Taliban took control of most of
CONVERSATIONS 20
Afghanistan by 1996. Many Afghans welcomed it with open arms, seeing
in its fierce religious beliefs a solution to the violence that had plagued the
country for almost two decades.
Haysam Kadri as Rasheed, Nadine Malouf as Laila, and Kate Rigg as Mariam
(Photo by Kevin Berne)
The people’s celebrations were short-lived. The Taliban believed that
impurity and vice were the root cause of the country’s problems. Through
its Department for the Preservation of Virtue and the Elimination of Vice,
the Taliban issued edict after edict banning anything that might entice
people to sin. Women were forbidden from working, attending school,
and leaving their homes without a male relative to escort them. Even a
glimpse of an arm or an ankle could incur brutal punishment. In sports
arenas and city squares throughout the country, the Taliban beat
offenders, amputated their limbs, and sometimes stoned them to death.
This is the political and social world that Mariam and Laila must navigate
in A Thousand Splendid Suns.
CONVERSATIONS 21
Since the Taliban were driven out of power in 2001, life in Afghanistan has
become slightly more stable. Under the new constitution written in 2004,
women are granted equal rights. But Afghanistan remains a country
under siege. Foreign militant groups such as Islamic State (ISIS) have
increased their influence in the nation, launching their own attacks and
adding to the body count. The Taliban remains a significant threat in
many areas. According to the Pentagon, the Afghan government only
controls 258 of the country’s 407 districts.
The Afghan people remain hardworking, resilient, and hopeful. Like Laila
and Mariam, many are working toward a brighter future and a time when
this Central Asian country will be known more for its beauty than its
violent past.
PLEASE NOTE: This article has been edited from its original form, Shifting
Sands, as it first appeared in American Conservatory Theater’s
performance program for its 2017 production of A Thousand Splendid Suns.
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her
shackles are very different from my own.”
–Audre Lorde
CONVERSATIONS 22
A Celebration of the Female Spirit
The two central women in A Thousand Splendid Suns share a bond despite
their vastly different upbringings: Young, pretty Laila was raised by
loving and well-educated parents in
progressive Kabul, whereas Mariam grew up
in a kolba (a shack) in rural Afghanistan
having been abandoned by her father and
orphaned by her mother left only to marry the
first man who came along, Rasheed (played by
Calgary’s own Haysam Kadri). When Rasheed
marries them both, the women are at odds;
however, the birth of a child, a daughter
named Aziza, unites them.
While attending a performance of A Thousand Splendid Suns at Theatre
Calgary, audiences will also be able to take in the histories of over twenty
Calgarian women’s stories of survival. Pre-show and during intermission,
lobby displays will illuminate their journeys. In partnership with various
community groups (including the Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation,
the Alberta Network of Immigrant Women, and the Afghan Canadian
Association of Calgary, to name but a few), Theatre Calgary hopes to
celebrate the strong women in our community in conjunction with
recognizing women around the world in time for International Women’s
Day on March 8th.
CONVERSATIONS 23
Not only will the Max Bell Theatre lobby be filled with fascinating local
women’s stories, but it will be adorned with artwork by Afghan women
for purchase, supplied by the Canadian Women for Women in
Afghanistan, a locally founded, national non-profit dedicated to women’s
rights in Afghanistan. All funds raised will go directly to the artists
themselves and representatives from the organization will be on hand to
tell us how we can help further.
Furthermore, after the show on March 8th stay for a special International
Women’s Day event where Syrian refugee and Calgarian entrepreneur
Rita Khanchet will share her own story and engage the audience in
conversation.
A Thousand Splendid Suns’ message of hope and female empowerment has
already resonated with our neighbours south of the border in San
Francisco where it opened to rave reviews this February, and with over
3,000 people showing up for the Calgary Women’s March this past
January, hopefully it will resonate with local audiences too.
CONVERSATIONS 24
Movie Night
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a story of remarkable resilience and the female
bond. Set in war-torn Afghanistan, based on the bestselling novel by
Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a brand-new theatrical
adaptation that is rich in its inspiration. Explore its themes with these
notable films:
Beneath the Veil A 2001 episode of Dispatches, a British TV current
affairs documentary series, which exposes the inhuman judicial practices
of the Taliban through the story of one woman’s trial. It won a Royal
Television Society Television Journalism Award for Programme of the
Year in 2001.
Kandahar A partly fictional and partly true 2001 Iranian film that follows
an Afghan-Canadian woman’s journey as she returns to Afghanistan after
hearing that her oldest friend plans to take her own life.
Osama The first film to be shot entirely in Afghanistan since 1996 when
the Taliban banned the creation of all new films; this 2003 film tells the
story of an adolescent girl who disguises herself as a boy in order to
support her family in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
The Kite Runner A 2007 drama based on Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling
novel of the same name. Set largely in Kabul, this story focusses on male
friendship and follows a pair of boys divided by class as they grow up in
violent Afghanistan.
He Named Me Malala A 2015 documentary about Pakistani female
activist and Nobel Prize winner, MalalaYousafzai, and her recovery from
an assassination-attempt by the Taliban on her life due to her fervent
support of girls’ rights to education.
CONVERSATIONS 25
Recommended Reads from Calgary Public Library By Rosemary Griebel
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Fiction. 2003. From the author of A Thousand Splendid Suns, this
remarkable debut novel presents a glimpse of life in Afghanistan
before the Russian invasion. Read the unforgettable story of an
Afghan writer returning to a ravaged homeland to confront a
childhood betrayal and find redemption as an adult.
The Lovers: Afghanistan's Romeo and Juliet: the True Story of How They Defied Their Families and Escaped An Honor Killing by Rod Norland
Nonfiction. 2016. Zakia and Ali, who are from rival sects, marry
without parental permission and now live in fear for their lives.
This story by the New York Times’ Kabul bureau chief, spotlights
issues of women’s rights violations, journalistic ethics, and
religious extremism in war-torn Afghanistan.
My Name is Parvana by Deborah Ellis
Fiction. 2012. In this sequel to the Breadwinner Trilogy, Parvana is
now a teenage girl living in post-Taliban Afghanistan struggling to
deal with the past, American soldiers who view her as a bombing
suspect, and local men who violently oppose education for girls. A
powerful story depicting the challenges facing Afghan women by
an award-winning Canadian author.
Click on the book covers to check availability
at the Calgary Public Library!
CONVERSATIONS 26
The Pearl That Broke Its Shell: [A Novel] by Nadia Hashimi
Fiction. 2014. The lives of two Afghan women, separated by a
century yet achingly similar, are interwoven in this debut novel.
Both women struggle for freedom in a deeply patriarchal society
where ancient customs dictate a woman’s fate.
The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri Murari
Fiction. 2012. Murari provides a unique approach to the subject of
Taliban repression in this novel. A young undercover journalist
and accomplished cricket player hopes to help her Afghan family
gain their freedom by winning a Taliban-sanctioned cricket
tournament that would allow them to travel outside of the country.
Amidst the terror and despair wrought by war, there is also hope
and humour.
The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad
Fiction. 2011. The author, a long-retired Pakistani civil servant,
skillfully navigates the harsh landscape and tribal life of the FATA
(Federally Administered Tribal Lands) through the eyes of the
elusive Tor Baz. This remote border region between Afghanistan,
Iraq, and Pakistan is home to tribal nomads whose ancient cultures
and fractious existence is influenced by external political forces. A
riveting depiction of a complex part of the world.
Click on the book covers to check availability
at the Calgary Public Library!
CONVERSATIONS 27
Sources
Adams, Simon. Afghanistan. Minnesota: Smart Apple Media, 2008.
“A.C.T. A Thousand Splendid Suns Program”
http://www.act-sf.org/content/dam/act/2016-
17_Season/A%20Thousand%20Splendid%20Suns/A%20Thousand%20Sple
ndid%20Suns%20program%20final%20(2017).pdf
“Farsi Dictionary”
http://atssproject.weebly.com/farsi-words.html
Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. Toronto: Viking Canada,
2007.
“Kabul”
https://allpoetry.com/poem/8541977-Kabul-by-Mirza-Muhammed-Ali-
Saib
Rasanayagam, Angelo. Afghanistan: A Modern History. New York: I.B.
Tauris & Co. Ltd: 2003.
Wattling, Shari. “Theatre Calgary’s The Kite Runner Enrichment Guide.”