''Back of the Throat'' is a
play written by Arab-American playwright
Yussef El Guindi
Yussef El Guindi ( ar, يوسف الجندى ; born 1960) is an Egyptian-American playwright. He writes full-length, one-act, and adapted plays on Arab-Muslim experience in the United States. He is best known for his 2005 play ''Back of the Throa ...
. The play reflects the fear of the Arab-American community in the
post-9/11 America.
It was first performed by
San Francisco's Thick Description and Golden Thread Productions in April 2005.
It was performed in 2005 in
Seattle,
in 2006 at
The Flea Theater in New York City under direction of
Jim Simpson,
and has also been produced in other locations, including Chicago,
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
I ...
(Los Angeles area),
and London.
The play won the 2004 Northwest Playwrights' Competition held by
Theater Schmeater,
L.A. Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...
's Excellence in Playwriting Award for 2006, was nominated for the 2006
American Theater Critics Association
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
's Steinberg/New Play Award, and was voted Best New Play of 2005 by the
Seattle Times
''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...
.
Plot
The play is an approximately 75 minute one-act production, about a young Arab-American (Khaled) confined to his home by two government agents.
The questioning of Khaled intensifies as the play progresses, with seemingly every item in his apartment a potential source of suspicion. It is revealed that his girlfriend first reported him for seeming suspicious in light of recent "attacks" which have occurred.
The play's title is a reference to the pronunciation of the Arabic “K” in Khaled’s name.
References
{{reflist
American plays
2005 plays