Noura NYC Reviews and Tickets

76%
(181 Ratings)
Positive
77%
Mixed
21%
Negative
2%
Members say
Thought-provoking, Absorbing, Relevant, Intelligent, Great acting

About the Show

Playwrights Horizons' new drama about an Iraqi-American charts the intricate pathways of motherhood and marriage — and the fragile architecture of what we call home. Based on Ibsen's "A Doll's House."

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Show-Score Member Reviews (181)

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86 Reviews | 10 Followers
91
Absorbing, Resonant, Thought-provoking

See it if You are interested in the assimilation and PTSD issues of refugees. You like relationship dramas with a lot of conversation

Don't see it if You prefer lighter fare. You have difficulty listening to foreign accents on stage. Read more

65 Reviews | 20 Followers
90
Absorbing, Complex, Moving

See it if You are interesting in the psychological impact of being an immigrant

Don't see it if Political themes do not appeal to you or you are not interested in the political and psychological plight of the outsider Read more

232 Reviews | 20 Followers
90
Absorbing, Indulgent, Intense, Great acting, Profound

See it if You enjoy thought provoking drama

Don't see it if You want light hearted comedy or musicals

53 Reviews | 16 Followers
89
Absorbing, Great writing, Intelligent, Intense, Relevant

See it if You want to see how some immigrant families integrate into American Society-their concerns and hopes-without American politics also present

Don't see it if you are looking for a fluff show that provides mindless entertainment. ( these shows have their place, but this is not one of them)

73 Reviews | 21 Followers
86
Absorbing, Great acting, Great writing, Thought-provoking, Confusing

See it if u like complex narratives that explore the inner life of women. Themes of immigration, assimilation, family, and trauma explored.

Don't see it if you aren't interested in complex arab american stories.

127 Reviews | 13 Followers
86
Confusing, Great acting, Dizzying

See it if you want a different view of an immigrant's life in America. Interesting look at those they leave behind.

Don't see it if you want an unpredictable story and a set that makes sense.

155 Reviews | 26 Followers
85
Relevant, Great writing, Great acting, Enchanting, Absorbing

See it if this play was very underrated. it was great!

Don't see it if ...

83 Reviews | 12 Followers
85
Great acting, Intense, Thought-provoking, Relevant

See it if you enjoy good acting and plots dealing with family interaction

Don't see it if you don't like plays about problems of immigrants.

Critic Reviews (35)

CurtainUp
December 10th, 2018

"Raffo and the four other actors deftly navigate the complexities that shape how they see their lives and relationships with each other. However, with so many issues to unspool in such a short time, their interactions at times short change emotionally engaging dramatics for debate-like discussions...The chance to become acquainted with people most of us know little about, the strong performances and intriguing stagecraft make this play's payoff greater than its shortcomings."
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Theatre is Easy
December 10th, 2018

“An enchanting and poetic new play about Iraqi refugees...The smart and stimulating dilemmas...kept my mind racing long after the play ended...Tropes and themes in Raffo’s play clearly echo Ibsen’s masterpiece. The comparison takes nothing away from Raffo’s originality, but suggests the heritage of the theatre as a lens through which to view this intelligent new play....Raffo’s script is a hopeful and optimistic take that flits and floats like a holiday miracle.”
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Theater Pizzazz
December 10th, 2018

"Director Joanna Settle, who has teamed with Raffo before, clearly understands the play and its heroine, but she can’t quite put it over the top. Inspired by Ibsen’s 'A Doll’s House' but possessing a personality very much its own, 'Noura' deals with important personal themes for its main character and the playwright. These issues are largely internal, making them challenging to dramatize, and Raffo only partly meets the challenge."
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Front Row Center
December 11th, 2018

“It would be a cheap shot to say ‘Noura’ is just a contemporary version of ‘A Doll’s House’, with an Iraqi-refugee wash. But, it gets us in the ballpark. There are many intriguing parallels, but Raffo’s ‘Noura’ borrows judiciously and enriches profoundly. It has the immediacy of a news flash and the overlay of brutal, desperate flight...’Noura’ is philosophically intriguing but needs more in the emotional-impact department to satisfy.”
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Front Mezz Junkies
December 10th, 2018

"There’s a very powerful story hidden deep inside branches of the Christmas tree center stage in the fascinating and relevant new play...Numerous moments are lost or forgotten, and plot-lines squandered...'Noura' feels like a series of talking points about someone’s disturbing but disjointed journey from there to here, that never really gets inside us. It’s worth the wait though, in the end, for that last powerful unwrapping."
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Exeunt Magazine
December 11th, 2018

"The deep irony of 'Noura' is that...Noura still can’t find a place in the world to be free of shame and of secrets, and where other people’s ideas of her don’t shape her identity. Her new life is physically safer than the old, but doesn’t allow her to find a sense of self...Raffo is a luminous performer; we feel every thought that crosses Noura’s mind, and Raffo has the flexibility and complexity to make Noura both abrasive and vulnerable, and her struggle both frustrating and moving."
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C
December 10th, 2018

"Raffo, who also turns in a powerful performance as Noura, has a lot she wants to tell us: about the experience of being an Iraqi refugee in America; handling the challenges of forging one's personal and political identity; finding the balance between family - especially motherhood - and individual fulfillment, and, above all, satisfying the almost impossible need to both hold on and let go of the past."
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Theatre's Leiter Side
December 10th, 2018

"A sensitive but only passably successful work…Raffo's dialogue is sometimes straightforward and natural, sometimes elusively vague and pseudo-poetic. While there are moments of insight and human warmth, too many others feel contrived and artificial…Raffo leads a company of excellent actors…But 'Noura''s significance resides mainly in its presentation of well-trodden but powerful tropes…embedded within a world that, for all its initial unfamiliarity, turns out to be pretty familiar after all."
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