Review of Damascus at Strawdog Theatre Company

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called Damascus. It was by Bennett Fisher and it was directed by Cody Estle. It was about a man named Hassan (Terence Sims) who drives a shuttle at the Minneapolis airport. He is in a really bad financial situation so when this kid named Lloyd (Sam Hubbard) asks Hassan to drive him to get a flight from Chicago, he agrees. Lloyd says he has missed his flight to visit his mom who is sick so he doesn;t want to wait. Shortly into the trip, they hear that there has been an incident at the airport, which changes the way they interact with each other. This is a really thought-provoking and visually beautiful show.

I thought the set (by Jeffrey Kmiec) was really beautiful and mysterious because of how the lamp posts seemed to be overtaking the car. They were curved down more than normal lamp posts. I also liked the simplicity of the van. It wasn't a full vehicle, but it also wasn't a few chairs. It took a lot of aspects of the vehicle and just outlined them, but then the inside was fully upholstered. It was like when the actors are in the van they are in a realistic world, but from the outside the audience sees the suggestive structural elements. The inside is like seeing and accepting the world how it is, and the outside is like seeing what can be taken away. The lights (by John Kelly) were very noir and moody. The car was lit from the inside, so it could be pitch black outside of the car and perfectly lit inside the car. I also liked how the light would pulse through each lamp to suggest movement and the passage of time.

Hassan was a very compelling and sympathetic character. He is a victim of another character, but the play doesn't focus on how much of a victim he is. He doesn't just sit back and take it; he is fighting back. I think a lot of times when some writers portray people of color, they make being a victim the character's personality. Especially in theater and film every character should have a compelling motive and a reason to be there and not only be there to reflect how terrible the other people are. I think we should have stories about how people have been victims, but that should not be all we know about those people. I thought Sims' performance was really amazing. You could tell what he was thinking the entire time. When I sat down to write this paragraph, I originally thought that it was going to be about Hassan's monologue, but then I realized he didn't have one. I just felt that I knew everything that he was thinking because his performance has so much depth even though he never talked directly to the audience.

There is a lot of exciting and interesting suspense building throughout the show. They approach it in a way where the silence is threatening. When they are talking, even if they are saying threatening things, it is not as frightening as the silence. I thought it was very compelling. They also built suspense through awkward conversations. They get to know each other before certain things are revealed about the characters, so then when they have regular conversations after the revelations, the conversations are ominous in addition being awkward.

People who would like this show are people who like ominous awkward conversations, compelling characters, and suggestive structures. I think that people should definitely go see this show. I think it is well-performed and beautiful to watch.

Photos: Clark Bender