Sakina's Restaurant breathes new life into an age old story: the emotive tale of an immigrant coming to New York in pursuit of the American dream.
Actor, comedian, and writer Aasif Mandvi originally performed his Obie Award-winning solo show off-Broadway 20 years ago. This past October, the iconic play was reimagined and produced by Audible for a limited run at Minetta Lane Theatre in Manhattan's West Village.
Recorded for an Audible-exclusive audience, listeners can forgo the price of admission and embark on the cross-cultural journey with Mandvi. Listen in as he seamlessly transitions from character to character, impersonating a teenage girl as she grapples with coming of age in New York under the roof of traditional Indian parents, and an older male restaurateur clinging to his heritage with the same remarkable ease.
Entertaining and intimate, this story of what it means to be an American was written long before immigration became an intensely polarizing issue. Today, its revival feels necessary if not urgent, and certainly as honest and refreshing as ever.
Written and performed by Aasif Mandvi.
Directed by Kimberly Senior.
Originally directed and developed by Kimberly Hughes.
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(Audible Original, 28 February 2019, 1 hour 17 minutes, bought from @audibleuk, free with membership for a limited time)
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I really enjoyed listening to this. It's well written, entertaining and thought provoking. It's hard to imagine the play is written and set before immigration became such a contentious issue in the US, during I hasten to say, more innocent and accepting times? Each episode of the play has a different narrator across a man who moves to the US to open the restaurant of the title and his family such as his daughter and other people they encounter across the years. There are some funny moments as the man struggles to make sense of US culture but there are moments tinged with sadness as well. This is very poignant.