Theater can be used as an excuse to escape, a brief reprieve of the everyday mundanity. It can also be used as a tool to question establishment, challenge an audience and encourage discussion. The Outré Theatre Co. looks to enact the latter with its production of Back of the Throat, coming to the Sol Theatre in Boca Raton from October 24 to November 9.
Written by Arab-American playwright Yussef El Guindi, Back of the Throat takes an uncomfortable look post-9/11 American and the suspicion of the Arad-American community in America. The play revolves around Khaled, a writer in New York City confined in his studio apartment by two government detectives, Bartlett and Carl, who think he’s a terrorist. As the questioning becomes more pointed, and the more Khaled cooperates, the more aggressive the detectives become.
The one-act play touches on themes of bigotry, fear, government overreach and corruption, and one’s place in society while putting the audience into the position of the innocent bystander of the war on terror. Even the play’s title—a reference to Bartlett’s difficulty in pronouncing Khaled’s name—speaks to fear through intolerance, where the fear of the unknown and what is different can lead to drastic ends.
- Back of the Throat will run from October 24 to November 9 at the Sol Theatre in Boca Raton.
- Tickets cost $30 ($20 for students, $25 for seniors).
- For more information, visit outretheatrecompany.com.
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