After this season I’m hoping we can call a moratorium on plays that feature panel discussions as part of the action – this marks at least the fourth since September – but Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s Invasion! gets a pass for at least being timely. The audacious, fast-paced comedy is presented largely in disconnected monologues about a man, or a series of men, named Abulkasem, and people’s assumptions about Muslim men. First produced in Khemiri’s native Sweden – ABBA factor into the show, of course – the Obie-winning play wowed New York audiences back in 2011, with praise for examining Islamophobia in non-traditional ways. (From Variety: “Oh, God, finally — a play about Arab identity that isn’t a naked grab for grant money.”)
photo: Jonas Hassen Khemiri