Noura NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (181)
See it if you enjoy intelligent, thoughtful plays that deal with the immigrant experience in this country.
Don't see it if you don't care about how difficult it is for immigrants to be forced to leave their countries to find a better life here.
See it if You're interested in how we "Americanize" ourselves, and how refugees process trauma.
Don't see it if You're looking for more than a variation on the "American Family Drama," updated for the 2010s.
See it if you enjoy a tale about the difficulties of leaving one country and coming to another.
Don't see it if you want a lot of action. The story is about the characters, not a lot of action.
See it if you want a profound story on the intersections of life for immigrants fleeing from trauma who arrive in America carrying ghosts.
Don't see it if A clean drama. There is stuff in here that doesn't logically make sense. The play wins on passion and performance.
See it if You are interested in the psychological impact immigrants have in adjusting to life in a new country and the dynamics of the adjustment.
Don't see it if You don't want to see a play about immigrants. Read more
See it if You appreciate great acting discussing thought provoking and poignant topics.
Don't see it if You prefer light fluffy plays and or musicals.
See it if You enjoy deep conversations and themes
Don't see it if you don't want to feel disturbed and want was frivolous night out
See it if you like family dramas with some surprises; you like plays involving the adjustment of Iraqi families to the USA
Don't see it if you want to see a fun musical; you don't like plays involving Middle Eastern immigrants;
Critic Reviews (35)
"Brilliantly shows how individuals have escaped their homelands and immigrated to America for opportunity...In the end the plot points were searing, but the play gets lost in its own lack of identity. Settle’s direction is a kaleidoscope of colors, but she loses her battle in understanding Noura or to even have sympathy for her...The cast all gives stellar performances and I think Raffo is a better actress than playwright, except we need to have sympathy for Noura and in the end we have lost it."
Read more
"There are many important issues raised — the difficulties faced by immigrants, conflicting feelings about honoring a past that is forever gone while adjusting to a new life, dealing with nightmare memories of war, finding a balance between community and individualism, and facing the corrosive effects of tribalism, both in Iraq and in the U.S. Some of these are better worked into the fabric of the play than others. I am sorry that the author felt the need to add some melodrama to the mix."
Read more
“Raffo packs so much into her plot, including a surprise twist, that the end result is rather diffuse. There are commanding ingredients for an audience to contemplate, but the play doesn’t have sufficient impact to leave one deeply moved. However, there are many striking moments tied to the underlying theme...Settle keeps the busy dialogue brimming...Settle is meticulous in building an atmosphere ripe for puncturing...If only we could feel more deeply about the outcome.”
Read more
“Raffo’s play is meaty, but difficult. It seems to lurch rather than flow. We get no sense of Noura’s relationship to her husband before everything hits the fan. Rafa’a is an amiable cipher. The unresolved ending feels like a cop-out. There are important ideas here, applicable beyond the situation, but, in the end, the piece is less satisfying than it might be...Raffo is clearly invested as an actress, though performance is a bit one note. Elouahabi feels solid and real as does Azama.”
Read more
“Raffo plays the title character with depth and élan...A parallel with ‘A Doll’s House’. Raffo makes no pretense of disguising the correspondences with that classic work...Artfully directed...the actors bring these...characters vividly to life. Despite some elevated language, they feel lucidly, eloquently real...They’re versions of people in your own family, your own world. That’s the measure of Raffo’s accomplishment and the success of this production.”
Read more
“I expected to like ‘Noura’...I knew it was about a Christian Iraqi family living in the US, which I found intriguing, and that it delves into assimilation and loss, individualism versus community, and lies and secrets, topics that are endlessly delve-able. In addition, it riffs on ‘A Doll's House’...As the play unfolded, I found I had questions...’What is this play about, anyway?’ ‘And why should I care?’...There may be more to it than I perceived."
Read more
"Elegantly constructed...In this delicate memory play, each element crafted is key. Each character’s current passions, past actions, and future dreams are filtered through American politics, different religious traditions, intertwined personal and family histories, and expectations for each other."
Read more
“The play isn’t perfect — the plot occasionally takes predictable, soapy turns...Pacing remains breakneck, which doesn’t always allow the actors to realize a moment for its full effect. And although ‘Noura’ is essentially a realist drama, the staging includes several visual aspects that suggest spectacle for its own sake. In spite of its minor flaws, ‘Noura’ tells a story that deserves to be heard. Raffo shows how a contemporary writer can dialogue with a work of the past."
Read more