Originally performed on Monday, March 25, 2024
Consortium scholar and Artist Protection Fund Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, Anoar Rahmani, and colleague Olena Boryshpolets premiered their play, Sorry, I Don’t Understanding, this past Monday, March 25, in Pittsburgh. Rahmani and Boryshpolets met as writers-in-residence at City of Asylum, where they soon began to collaborate, eventually writing, producing, and acting in this original and extremely personal work of theater.
The play, performed in Navajo, Ukrainian, Algerian, Arabic, French, and English, tells the story of a Ukrainian woman and an Algerian man who arrive in Pittsburgh and accidentally become neighbors. She has fled her family and country because of Russia’s war against the free people of Ukraine, and he has fled Algeria because of the government’s persecution for supporting LGBT rights. They pass each other on their street and quickly hide in their apartments, where they live their pain in solitude. One day, they realize that in order to move on, it is vital for them to tell each other their stories.
If the characters sound familiar, it’s because they are. The idea for the play came about as our writers became neighbors, and then friends. “One day we got tired of walking past each other in silence and started talking,” said Olena. “It was difficult because at that time I hardly spoke English and was in a critical state of adaptation, when communication with people is difficult. But it is communication with the world and others that a person needs at such moments. I said ‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand’ many, many times in America, and what I felt inside grew into the idea of the play.”
“On a cloudy day, amidst a dispute over trash cans, I found myself strolling with Olena.” Anouar explained. “As we walked, she confided in me her aspirations of pursuing a career as an actress in the theatre. However, one obstacle stood in her way – the English language. In that moment, an idea sparked within me, and I suggested the core concept for a play that could showcase her talents and mine. Together, we embarked on a collaborative journey, intertwining our unique perspectives and skills. With my touch and her touch, we meticulously crafted the scenes of this play, ensuring that each moment carried equal credit for both of us. A little Algerian and a little Ukrainian in a balanced way. Our shared creation aims to convey the experiences of immigrants in the USA, using a surreal and allegorical approach. It is our collective endeavor to deliver a profound message through the art of theater.”
Read more about the play in Pittsburgh Magazine.
Anouar Rahmani is an Algerian writer, artist, and human rights defender. He is currently an Artist Protection Fund Fellow-in-residence at Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Modern Languages and has been a writer-in-residence at City of Asylum since 2022.