An Ordinary Muslim NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (130)
See it if you're interested enough in the current situation for the British Pakistani community to overlook the stretches of pedestrian domestic drama
Don't see it if you have seen your share of lengthy domestic dramas with lots of intractable complications. Read more
See it if you enjoy watching complex characters struggling with identity and societal expectations.
Don't see it if you can’t take a heavy show. My biggest problem with this play is that nearly every scene features an argument. It lacks balance.
See it if a crisis of expectations define a Brit Pakistani duo-generational family in two-and-one-half hours. Fissures can't mend staunch fervour.
Don't see it if ethnocentric-familial drama stretched labouriously over two acts.
See it if you are interested in family dramas and stories depicting feelings of alienation.
Don't see it if you want a quick paced, absorbing play. The story has its merits but the pacing moves at a snail’s pace. The book needs work and editing.
See it if you like slow moving plays with rants and tirades about racism.Play has a point to make but does so in a heavy handed way. Show don't tell
Don't see it if you were hoping to learn something about race relations regarding Muslims in the UK, by extension the US. Should be riveting, was dull
See it if Good performances and a compelling story. Held my interest. Works as a family drama.
Don't see it if The political message the author was trying to convey made me very angry.
See it if You like theatre that explores the political, social, cultural, and family issues that face Pakistani Muslim immigrants.
Don't see it if You are unwilling to consider the impact of racial and religious discrimination and cultural differences.
See it if you enjoy a play that makes you think about the plight of being a stranger in a strange land that doesn't really accept you.
Don't see it if thought provoking work is not up your alley
Critic Reviews (21)
"A timely look at the traumas of dislocation among the children of Muslim immigrants in England, it seems a bit traumatized and dislocated itself, unable to control the gears of conflict to tell its story clearly...'An Ordinary Muslim' is an important work still struggling to emerge from a text filled with freshman problems...The most promising thing is the way its best moments seem to creep delicately out from under the rock of the author’s determination to make heavier points."
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"Hammaad Chaudry makes an audacious if erratic professional debut...The play comes most excitingly to life when it probes the mental torment of being Muslim in an increasingly hostile Western culture...Chaudry and director Jo Bonney can’t sustain this one’s central family tension. Still, Azeem’s anguish is palpable whenever De Silva is front and center."
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"'An Ordinary Muslim' is its playwright’s professional debut, and it’s an impressive one...The play feels solid, nurtured, strong-boned...Chaudry has created a meticulous, empathetic ensemble drama—all eight of his characters feel nuanced, human—but the heart of his pain is located in the father and son...Bonney does precise, powerful work with the entire cast, and it’s particularly wrenching—in that half-funny, half-excruciating, wholly recognizable way—when the generations lock horns."
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"Chaudry smartly plants little seeds of conflict throughout his exposition, and with agrarian patience, the cast nurtures them into fruition. By encouraging such nuanced performances, director Jo Bonney expertly cultivates the slow-build nature of Chaudry's script...'An Ordinary Muslim' is a slow climb, but it's worth it once you get to the top and see Chaudry's bird's-eye perspective."
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"There's so much going on in 'An Ordinary Muslim' that it feels less like a play and more like a pilot for a miniseries...There's plenty of rich material here, but it wants better sorting out...The best thing about 'An Ordinary Muslim' is the chance to spend time with its talented cast, although Jo Bonney's sluggish direction often leaves them at a disadvantage...This is a seriously undercooked piece that needs considerable rethinking if it is ever to be made to work. It tells too much and shows too little."
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"It's exciting to see a new play centering on the Pakistani community and Chaudry's writing shows promise...A solid production with an excellent cast and a savvy director...However, there are problems...These people would never have the level of naivety Chaudry assigns them here simply for the wheels of his plot to keep turning...Worse still is the ridiculous political diatribe Chaudry goes on...Chaudry isn't really saying anything new or fresh in his play."
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"The trouble is that there is nothing new or daring or particularly interesting about the play despite its intriguing subject matter. It is an old-fashioned play-think warmed over Clifford Odets with a touch of Chekhov and more than a few hints of Greek hubris-that deals with the treatment of Pakistani-British Muslims in Great Britain, specifically West London, 2011. It is full of clichéd writing including having characters appear just as their name is brought up."
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"In Chaudry’s riveting drama, both generations suffer. Familiar and marital ties are tested, as traditions are challenged and changing times place demands...Jo Bonney directs a uniformly excellent cast. Sanjit De Silva shines as Akeem, the prism through which these many complex issues are reflected. Desai plays his sister with spirit and style, and Bedi is affecting as Akeem’s distressed wife...Akeem faces an identity crisis that is far from 'ordinary,' as the play’s ironic title suggests."
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