Next Act Theatre presents "Back of the Throat"

Food for thought in post-9/11 America

Milwaukee's own Next Act Theatre calls itself "intimate" and "compelling" – descriptors it has certainly earned with Yussef El Guindi's Back of the Throat, playing now through October 25th. 

The 80-minute, superbly-acted play is described as: "New York, soon after 9/11. Khaled, an Arab American writer, receives a cordial visit from Carl and Bartlett, two government officials. But their friendly demeanor slowly devolves into aggressive suspicion, and Khaled finds himself accused of possible ties to terrorists. Amidst the swirling accusations, the situation turns increasingly surreal and Khaled struggles desperately to hang on to what he once knew was true." 

Back of the Throat focuses on, as director Edward Morgan says, "the dominant crisis of our time." That is, terrorism and America's post-9/11 perception of Islam. The story feels real, intentionally confusing, is sometimes hard to watch, and is often times hard to listen to. But I'm glad I listened, watched, and embraced the confusion. It's here that questions arise and conversations start. Even two days later over dinner, Adam and I were discussing whether or not Khaled was guilty of ties to terrorism.

For my part, I prefer to give Khaled the benefit of the doubt. If Back of the Throat taught me anything, it's that, in the context of terrorism, we can be tricked into seeing and believing non-truths. We see guilt where there is none, our paranoia gets the better of us, and if we look for terrorism, we just might find it.

I promise you will leave Back of the Throat with more questions than answers – but they're questions worth pondering. We're still living in a post-9/11 world, and while that's a fact spouted by the media time and again, I for one have never had a real conversation about it. Have you? Go see Back of the Throat and trust me – you will.

For ticket information, visit nextact.org.