Ali Kazmi, who is an established actor in Pakistan, has been making waves internationally for quite sometime. So much so that he has worked with acclaimed international director Deepa Mehta twice (Beeba Boys and Funny Boy) and appeared in the network dramas Designated Survivor and Taken. The multifaceted Pakistani-Canadian actor is now going to leave a mark in Canadian theaters as he is all set to feature in a play titled Bengal Tiger At The Baghdad Zoo which will be performed at the Crow’s Theater in Toronto, Canada.
Ali took to Instagram and shared the big news with his fans as he reposted a post by the official Crow’s Theater page.
“An honour and a privilege to bring this beautiful play to life on the stage with an cast and crew of amazing humans! Meet Ali Kazmi, a multilingual, multifaceted, and multitalented Pakistani-Canadian. He has appeared in two films by Deepa Mehta, Beeba Boys and Funny Boy; in Pakistan’s first superhero/adventure flick, Umro Ayaar; and in the network dramas Designated Survivor and Taken. He is also a triathlete and has attained his Taekwondo Blue belt,” it read.
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Bengal Tiger At The Baghdad Zoo is written by Rajiv Joseph and directed by Rouvan Silogix. It will be performed from January 11th to 3oth, 2022. Ali will be essaying the role of an Iraqi man, Uday Hussein.
Here are the actors and the characters they are playing in the play: Kristen Thomson (Tiger), Ahmed Moneka (Musa), Christopher Allen (Kev), Jamie Mac (Tom), Mahsa Ershadifar (Iraqi woman, Leper), Sara Jaffri (Iraqi teenager, Haida).
Read: Funny Boy ft. Ali Kazmi bags 9 nominations at the Canadian Screen Awards
“Pulitzer Prize short-listed, Tony Award nominated, and National Endowment for the Arts award winner for Outstanding New American Play, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo is set amid the chaos of the American occupation of Iraq. A darkly comic tale narrated by an existentially minded tiger held captive in the Baghdad Zoo, the play follows the intertwined lives of two American marines and one Iraqi gardener as they search through the rubble of war for friendship, redemption, and a toilet seat made of gold,” read the description on the official website.
New York Times has defined the play as “Smart, savagely funny, and visionary new work.”
Playwright Rajiv Joseph is a two-time Obie Award winner for Best New American Play for Guards at the Taj and Describe the Night, which also won a Lucille Lortel Award. Director Rouvan Silogix was a finalist for the RBC Rising Star Emerging Director Prize and served as Assistant Director on Julius Caesar at Crow’s Theatre.
*Cover image credits: Jaffer Hasan
