NOW Magazine: An impressive cast depicts horrific times in 9 Parts

by Jon Kaplan

The battle cry of freedom resonates through 9 Parts Of Desire. It’s a cry of yearning by each of the play’s nine Iraqi women.

But in this series of monologues by Heather Raffo, each woman sees that freedom from a different perspective.

One is an artist who enjoys making portraits of her naked body in a culture that increasingly requires that women be covered; another is an exile who despairs of her revolutionary past; a third is a youngster who fantasizes about Justin Timberlake when she sees American soldiers.

All, though, must face the destructive war in their homeland.

“It’s an incredible play to stage, simply because much of the material is so hard to listen to,” says Melissa Jane Shaw, artistic producer of Seventh Stage Theatre.

“The through-line of freedom is a powerful one, but just as important is that each character decide what it is she wants. Each struggles to provide an answer to that question.”

Playwright Raffo played all the roles when she premiered the show. The Toronto staging is the first professional one to feature nine women from diverse backgrounds.

The impressive cast, which includes Aviva Armour-Ostroff, Deborah Grover, Lili Francks, Anusree Roy and actor/musician Maryem Hassan Tollar, is directed by Kelly Straughan.

“After Seventh Stage did Whale Music, we knew we wanted to stage a show that was political and made a difference,” recalls Shaw. “I went to New York three times and met with women-based companies like ours, asking them for suggestions.

“Though I ended up with 100 scripts, I decided on 9 Parts after reading only five pages. No other play offers nine such amazing parts for women, and it fits our mandate exactly.”

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