[Book] The Adventures of Ali & Ali

A wacky play in the tradition of agitprop theatre. I read the play before I saw it on stage, and both made me laugh out loud. The play is politically charged and very very silly. One thing I have noticed about the plays I have read and seen is that the play on stage is constantly evolving, changing through time. It's very common for the playwright to modify his or her play depending on the time and place it is performed. Therefore, it seems to me that play is alive and the text is dead, that is to say, the play on the page really can't compete with the live version of it. Plays are meant to be seen first and foremost, and Ali & Ali is no exception and probably particularly so. It updates with current events, so when I saw the play, it had included the recent Prophet Muhammad cartoon controversy (they played a video of a Jesus-like character who ran around in the street half-naked to the tune of "I will Survive" and then got run over by the bus), the latest development with Iraq and the Bush administration, etc. The play only has two characters from a made-up Middle Eastern country who try to sell things to the Canadian audience throughout. My favourite part was the satirical ethnic family plays within the play (which always end up with one character dying and the other saying "Damn you, Canadian dream!"); I found them hilarious for some reason (Robyn thinks I'm weird).

8/10