{"id":23160,"date":"2017-02-24T03:48:30","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T11:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=23160"},"modified":"2017-02-21T22:15:30","modified_gmt":"2017-02-22T06:15:30","slug":"a-swing-and-a-hit-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/02\/24\/a-swing-and-a-hit-play\/","title":{"rendered":"A swing and a hit play"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hasan (Nadeem Phillip) tells Haseena (Risha Nanda) about his dream of playing cricket in Canada. (photo by Emily Cooper)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I have to admit I\u2019ve never seen a cricket match in all the years I\u2019ve lived in Vancouver. I\u2019ve seen games in other countries \u2013 but I never knew Stanley Park had a field for cricket going back to the 1890s and a clubhouse that just turned 100.<\/p>\n

In fact, the pitch at Brockton Oval is considered rather hallowed ground by some and forms a focal point in The Men in White<\/em>, the current production at the Arts Club Granville Island Stage.<\/p>\n

Playwright Anosh Irani takes the audience from India, where dreamers see Canada as a land of refuge; to Canada, where dreams don\u2019t always turn out the way people hope; to the world of cricket, where even a \u201cduck\u201d doesn\u2019t hurt too badly as long as you don\u2019t have to borrow a \u201cbox.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based partly on the author\u2019s true experience at a chicken slaughterhouse, the play is set in two different locations \u2013 a chicken stand in Bombay and a cricket clubhouse in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

In India, 18-year-old Hasan dreams of becoming a famous cricket player and playing in Vancouver with his brother. As he laments his lot in life, he admires a local girl from afar, trying to woo her, despite becoming tongue-tied and awkward whenever she comes by. His adoptive father, who owns the shop, looks after him, trying to impart wisdom about life, albeit in rather unorthodox ways.<\/p>\n

In Vancouver, Hasan\u2019s brother, Abdul, has been living and working in a restaurant illegally, after arriving on a tourist visa. He\u2019s embarrassed to tell his brother of his circumstance, and the only thing that keeps his spirits up is to be able to play his favourite sport on a beautiful grass cricket field \u2013 a privilege for which he is immensely grateful. He\u2019s particularly impressed because Don Bradman, a renowned cricket player, had said in 1948: \u201cThe Brockton Point ground is the prettiest upon which it has been my pleasure to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the clubhouse, Hasan and his teammates discuss the game, each other\u2019s lives and the issues of the day, but come to blows when racist sentiment arises. A doctor who had emigrated from Bombay takes issue with Abdul. His angry outburst ends with him declaring, \u201cI will not allow Muslims in this country!\u201d<\/p>\n

The scene is disturbing in its familiarity, given President Trump\u2019s machinations, but also very touching, as the other team members rally around Abdul in support.<\/p>\n

While thought-provoking, the play doesn\u2019t offer up any answers. Its forte is in the writing and directing. The performance is jam-packed with witty repartee, sarcastic barbs and playful insults that are tossed at one another like verbal confetti.<\/p>\n

Irani has a skill in wordplay and humour that leaves the audience feeling at once unsettled by some of what\u2019s being said, while appreciating its delivery. With six of the cast members almost talking over one another at times, the outcome could have been rather messy, and the play needed the deft hand of Rachel Ditor at the helm to direct the characters in their split-second timing. The set design by Amir Ofek is minimalist, but in some ways reflects a cricket game. The two locations share one stage and action alternates between the two, as it would in a sporting match. Ofek\u2019s design enables the sets to coexist, while still being visually separated by the few props and use of different lighting.<\/p>\n

The Men in White<\/em> runs at Granville Island Stage until March 11 (artsclub.com<\/a>). Irani\u2019s work \u2013 he is also an author \u2013 has gained national and international acclaim and honours. Take the opportunity to see it for yourself.<\/p>\n

Baila Lazarus<\/strong> is a freelance writer and media strategist in Vancouver. Her consulting services are at phase2coaching.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hasan (Nadeem Phillip) tells Haseena (Risha Nanda) about his dream of playing cricket in Canada. (photo by Emily Cooper) I have to admit I\u2019ve never seen a cricket match in all the years I\u2019ve lived in Vancouver. I\u2019ve seen games in other countries \u2013 but I never knew Stanley Park had a field for cricket […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[6777,3157,6776,356,4730,2427,6208],"class_list":["post-23160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-anosh-irani","tag-canada","tag-cricket","tag-immigration","tag-india","tag-racism","tag-theatre"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}