Theater: “Disgraced”

Nothing is off the table in this fast-paced, high-tension socio-political drama by Ayad Akhtar as race, religion, law, and art collide. Truths are revealed, tempers erupt, and lives are poised to shatter as everyone gets caught up in the conversation. The play is centered on sociopolitical themes such as Islamophobia and the self-identity of Muslim-American citizens.It focuses on a dinner party between four people with very different backgrounds. As discussion turns to politics and religion, the mood quickly becomes heated. Described as a “combustible powder keg of identity politics,” the play depicts racial and ethnic prejudices that “secretly persist in even the most progressive cultural circles.” It is also said to depict the challenge for upwardly mobile Muslim Americans in the post-9/11 America.

The play won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.