Rehearsals are underway for Sylvia Khoury’s Selling Kabul at Playwrights Horizons ahead of its first performance November 17. The production, which was initially scheduled for March 2020, will now officially open at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre December 6.
Selling Kabul tells the story of the human cost of immigration policy and the overlooked legacy of America’s longest war. The production stars Dario Ladani Sanchez (Hand to God at Speakeasy Stage Company) as Taroon, Francis Benhamou (The Profane at Playwrights Horizons) as Leyla, Mattico David (Noura at Playwrights Horizons and Shakespeare Theatre Company) as Jawid, and Marjan Neshat (Julius Caesar at the Public Theater) as Afiya.
“This play speaks to our collective shame as Americans both through its content and its continued relevance today,” Khoury explained in a previous statement. “What it depicts is an uncomplicated injustice: an American promise broken and a series of Afghan lives ruined. As a first-generation American, I am intimately acquainted with the promise and hope of living and working in this country. What is less often discussed is the uglier side to this American dream—particularly when it’s falsely dangled in front of you, and the pursuit of it puts you in danger. This felt urgent to write, half a decade ago, because a play can depict—in a way that the news cannot fully embody—the devastating, far-reaching consequences of American policies abroad."
Selling Kabul features scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Montana Levi Blanco, lighting design by Jen Schriever, and stage management by Brett Anders and Bryan Bauer.
The show is produced in association with Williamstown Theatre Festival.
