Uncivilized is a play by Ahmad Meree dealing with “belonging” in its broadest sense. Meree plays Mohammad who takes us on a journey from arriving as a refugee from war torn Syria to, eventually, becoming a Canadian citizen. But how Canadian can he become? He can vote and get a Canadian passport but he’s still “brown” and Muslim. Throughout the process he’s continually asked if he’s a terrorist. It’s quite cutting but also very funny.
We see how Ukrainian refugees are seen very differently from Syrians. We explore the absurdities of the Citizenship application; both the form which asks the applicant, inter alia, if they are a war criminal (or, of course, a terrorist), to the exam in which one reveals one’s fitness by knowing the capital of Saskatchewan, to the oath administered in two languages when one can pretty much guarantee that (at least) one is incomprehensible to the participants. (FWIW, I became a citizen in Toronto and was the only person there who understood French, including I suspect the Immigration Judge conducting the ceremony). There’s also a very funny TV show where “Johnathan White” interviews Mohammad about the whole process.
Throughout Mohammad sits in front of a camera, or wanders around with it, interacting with an off-stage voice (Shannon Pitre) which variously represents bureaucracy, public opinion, a curious interlocutor but who always speaks in an impeccably “white” female Canadian voice. What the camera sees is projected onto the back wall. The off-stage voice is strangely alienating and hard to pin down which, I suppose, mirrors how one feels qwhen dealing with bureaucracy or
But to be fair to the play and to Canada it recognises that, while the processes are imperfect and assimilation (whatever that means) is different depending on your background, skin colour etc, it’s still way better to be a Canadian citizen in Toronto than to be living in a refugee camp in Syria (or Gaza). And few countries are as generous with citizenship as Canada. Try becoming a citizen in Germany or the UK.
Maybe it’s a bit didactic but it makes some important points and Meree is surely justified in pointing out that “rights” are only “human” if they apply to all humans. As Billy Bragg puts it “Freedom is merely privilege extended, unless enjoyed by one and all”.
Uncivilized is presented by 7Spices Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille. It continues in the Mainspace until 24th October.
Photo Credit: Only1AndyWright Photography & Design
