SummerWorks 2012: One/Un

Rows upon rows of black folding chairs are arranged on an otherwise bare stage. A man sits in one of the chairs on the far left, and begins to share with the audience his background and experiences as an Iranian living in Canada. One/Un, now playing at the Theatre Centre as part of this year’s SummerWorks Performance Festival, is a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences, told in such a compelling way that the audience quickly forgets that there is only one actor on stage.

Mani Soleymanlou, who wrote and directed the production, brings the audience along with him as he tells the story of his childhood and adolescence, seemingly always in transit throughout Canada. He was born in Iran, but remembers only a little about his home country—sharing his beautiful memories later on in a moving recollection. From Iran, his family moved to Paris, where he learned to speak French and, as he explains, use a urinal for the first time. From Paris, the family moved to Toronto, where Soleymanlou attended a French school in North York among other immigrants such as himself (although he cringes at the word immigrant, not knowing the true definition). Soleymanlou’s family then moved to Ottawa from Toronto, a city he can only describe by stammering and waving his hand dismissively, to laughter from the audience. Then, it was to Montreal, where Soleymanlou’s teacher encouraged students to participate in “Discovery Monday,” a day for exploring the different cultures in the class.

Soleymanlou then launches into a series of memories from his days in Iran, sharing with the audience his experiences flying there for a trip and watching his mother change from her regular clothes to a black veil and long dress that covered her from head to toe. Along with his own memories, Soleymanlou also provides the audience with what he calls a “history lesson”, describing the Iranian presidential election of 2009 and the ensuing protests and riots that resulted in the deaths of many young people who had hoped for a better country. His emotionally-laden description of these riots is further dramatized when he takes out his cell phone and sits, illuminated only by the light of the phone on the stage, and plays a video of the riots so the audience can hear the terrible sounds.

One/Un illustrates, in a very engaging and compelling way, how one man identifies, and at the same time cannot identify, with his homeland. Leaving Iran at such a young age and becoming first European, then Canadian, Solymanlou has a very difficult time aligning himself with Iran, and this is a common thread that runs throughout the production. Soleymanlou speaks with a great deal of conviction, rounding out his conflicted dialogue with humor and lighthearted jokes. One highlight of the production is when he stands up on a chair during an intense scene, his back towards the audience, and slowly begins to dance, to the audience’s surprise, to Little Peggy March’s “I Will Follow Him.”

One/Un is not to be missed. Catch this SummerWorks production until August 19 at The Theatre Centre. Visit SummerWorks.ca for more information and to buy tickets.

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