‘Selling Kabul’

Ensemble Theater Company performs timely play about family in Afghanistan

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8 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, The play is about an Afghan man hiding from the Taliban in his sister’s home in Kabul. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805965-5400.

FEB. 11

4 and 8 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805965-5400.

8 p.m. Transform Through Arts will present 10 dance companies in “Colors of Love” at the Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara. General admission costs $30 in advance and $35 at the door. Tickets are $25 for students. To purchase, go to www. centerstagetheater.org.

FEB. 12

By DAVE MASON

MANAGING EDITOR

It’s 2013, and Taroon is an Afghan man hiding from the Taliban.

He used to work as an interpreter for the U.S. military, which makes him a target for the Taliban during its long war to retake Afghanistan. Taroon has found refuge in his sister Afiya and brother-in-law Jawid’s house, and they are trying to keep Taroon safe at a time when their neighbor, Leyla, is becoming curious about what happened to Taroon.

That’s the plot of “Selling Kabul,” which Ensemble Theatre Company is performing through Feb. 19 at the New Vic in Santa Barbara.

Rishan Dharmiia, whose New York state credits vary from “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” at the Chautauqua Theater Company to “The Play That Goes Wrong” at Syracuse Stage, stars as Taroon. Nitya Vidyasager, who began her TV career on PBS’ “Sesame Street” and acted in “The Glorious Ones” at the Lincoln Center In New York City, plays Afiya.

The cast also includes two actors who performed recently in the Broadway production of “The Kite Runner,” based on the novel set during the Soviet era in Afghanistan. Beejan Land plays Jawid, and Christine Mirzayan portrays Leyla.

Nike Doukas, who performed at Ensemble Theatre Company in “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley,” is the director of “Selling Kabul.”

She told the News-Press that she didn’t know anything about “Selling Kabul” before Jonathan Fox, the artistic director of Ensemble Theatre Company, asked her to take a look at the script. She found the play was strong in terms of both its plot and its characters.

“I found it extremely wellwritten and beautifully constructed,” Ms. Doukas said, adding the play is a political thriller. “I found it very gripping.

“The characters are fully developed so you care about the people, so that makes you even more engaged in the story,” she said.

Ms. Doukas added that she felt “Selling Kabul” is an important play to perform now, not only because of current events in Afghanistan but because of the turmoil in countries such as Ukraine and Iraq.

“Good people are being forced to make horrible compromises,” she said, noting theater can help its audiences understand a troubled world better.

In “Selling Kabul,” Taroon believes the U.S. will help to get him out of Afghanistan. At the same time, his wife is giving birth to their baby, and he wants to see them. For Taroon’s safety, Afiya and Jawid must stop him from going to them, Ms. Doukas said.

And at the same time, Jawid must do what he can to make money to keep his family fed. That means continuing his work, making uniforms for the Taliban so they can disguise themselves as Afghan soldiers. Again, this play is set in 2013 when the Taliban hadn’t yet taken control of the government.

The story of “Selling Kabul” has parallels to the true life story presented in another play, “The Diary of Anne Frank,” in which a Jewish family hides from the Nazis in the attic of a non-Jewish family’s

FYI home.

The Ensemble Theatre Company is performing “Selling Kabul” 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 19 at the New Vic, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. There’s an additional show at 4 p.m. Saturday. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805965-5400.

“We talk about Anne Frank quite a bit,” Ms. Doukas said. “Sadly it’s a story that repeats itself.”

“Selling Kabul” is a play with current themes after the 2021 collapse of the Afghan government, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s return to power.

Despite the dangers around them in “Selling Kabul,” Taroon, Afiya and Jawid find “pockets of joy,” Ms. Doukas said. “You see how tenacious the human spirit is. In the middle of this, they’re still laughing. They’re still able to express their love for each other.” which is nice,” Mr. Land said.

Like Ms. Doukas, Mr. Land, who plays Jawid, was impressed with the script by playwright Sylvia Khoury.

“There is a universality about the play’s appeal because the story is all about hope and love and the lies we tell each other to protect each other,” Mr. Land told the News-Press.

He described his character as “grounded, patient and methodical.”

“He’s the character who changes the most during the play,” said Mr. Land, a Sydney, Australia, actor who portrayed five characters in the Broadway production of “The Kite Runner.” He said the play required him to do 15 costume changes.

Mr. Land said he became an actor because he likes telling stories about people.

Ms. Mirzayan described her character, nosy next-door neighbor Leyla, as “smart, passionate and extremely wise.”

She told the News-Press Leyla is curious about where Taroon is and what is going on at Afiya and Jawid’s home. “She’s the outsider essentially.”

Ms. Mirzayan said “Selling Kabul” keeps the audience guessing about Leyla’s real agenda.

Like Ms. Doukas and Mr. Land, Ms. Mirzayan is impressed with “Selling Kabul.”

“The writing is so impeccable, so precise, so honest,” she said. “It really lets us in this world. I think people here in America might not have an understanding of the day-to-day life or situations that continue to happen in Afghanistan.”

“My mom is a Farsi interpreter in the U.S.,” Ms. Mirazayan said, referring to the language of Iran. “She receives phone calls from Iranians who need interpreting. Because Farsi and Dari, the language spoken by Afghans, is so closely related, my mom gets a lot of phone calls from Afghan people.

“The story we are telling (in ‘Selling Kabul’) is not that far from the reality of what’s happening in Afghanistan — stories of people escaping Afghanistan, finding refuge elsewhere and not being able to find proper health care or a sustainable life.

“I heard her relay some of the phone calls she’s had,” said Ms. Mirzayan, 28, who earned her master’s of fine arts in 2019 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“I grew up performing most of my life. I was a dancer first,” said Ms. Mirzayan. “Acting came a bit later.

“We were reading ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in English class in 10th grade,” said Ms. Mirzayan, a 2012 graduate of AGBU ManoogianDemirdjian School, a private Armenian-American school in Canoga Park. “Our English teacher was also the drama teacher. She gently guided me to join the Shakespeare summer program.

1 p.m. Participants in Ted Nash’s workshop will go on stage at the Mary Craig Auditorium, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St. The free program is called “Transformation: Personal Stories of Change, Acceptance and Evolution” and will feature student composers, performers and writers from Mr. Nash’s workshop.

2 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, The play is about an Afghan man hiding from the Taliban in his sister’s home in Kabul. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805965-5400.

FEB. 14

6 to 7:30 p.m. Nicole Lvoff and Joe Woodard will perform on Valentine’s Day at the Crush Bar & Tap, 1129 A State St., Santa Barbara. Their music varies from Beatles songs to jazz standards. For more information, go to crushbarsb.com.

FEB. 15

7:30 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, The play is about an Afghan man hiding from the Taliban in his sister’s home in Kabul. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805965-5400.

FEB. 16

‘Selling Kabul’ has had a huge impact,’” Mr. Land, 37, said. “They (audience members) come in laughing and probably leave crying.”

“

Performances began earlier this month at the New Vic. “So far, there’s been standing ovations,

Ms. Mirzayan is a Los Angeles native whose parents are Iranians who left Iran right before the 1978-79 revolution that ousted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and brought Ayatollah Khomeini and a theocratic dictatorship into power. She said the feeling of fighting for your country and seeing your rights stripped away is very real to her family.

“We started performing scenes, and I started auditioning for school plays,” Ms. Mirzayan said.

“I just remember one day, she (the teacher) said, ‘Are you interested in doing this professionally?’ ”

“It was nice to have to have a role model to guide me in the right direction.” email: dmason@newspress.com

7 p.m. “The River Bride,” the story of folklore, love, regret and two sisters who struggle to be true to each other and their hearts will be presented by PCPA (Pacific Conservatory Theatre) from Feb. 16 through March 5 in Santa Maria. The play is being performed at the Severson Theatre at Allan Hancock College, 870 S. Bradley Road. Curtain rises at 7 p.m. Feb. 16-18, 1:30 p.m. Feb. 19 and 22, 10 a.m. Feb. 23, 7 p.m. Feb. 24, 1:30 and 7 p.m. Feb. 25, and 1:30 p.m. Feb. 26. Tickets are $49. To purchase, visit www.pcpa.org or call the box office at 805-922-8313.

7:30 p.m. Ensemble Theatre