More Aftermath: NYTW Extends Blank and Jensen Docu-Drama Off-Broadway

By Ernio Hernandez
21 Sep 2009

Aftermath star Amir Arison
photo by Joan Marcus

The Off-Broadway run of Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's Aftermath has been extended at New York Theatre Workshop through Oct. 18.

Blank directs the production that began previews Sept. 1 and opened Sept. 15 for a run originally scheduled through Oct. 4 at the Off-Broadway company's downtown home. The new work from the team behind Exonerated now adds two weeks of performances.

Blank and Jensen return to the genre of documentary theatre to delve into an "exploration of the Iraq war from the perspective of everyday Iraqi citizens and how their lives changed forever the day the Americans arrived in their country," according to NYTW notes.

NYTW sent the creators to Jordan in June 2008 where they interviewed Iraqis who fled their country for the relative safety of Jordan. Crafted from those conversations, Aftermath's stories are told by characters that include "a dermatologist, a husband and wife team of cooks, an Imam, an Iraqi Christian young mother, a husband and wife theatre director and visual artist, and a pharmacist."

The cast of Aftermath features Fajer Al Kaisi, Amir Arison, Leila Buck, Maha Chehlaoui, Demosthenes Chrysan, Daoud Heidami, Omar Koury, Laith Nakli and Rasha Zamamiri Wescott.

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About their latest work, Blank and Jensen comment in a release, "Aftermath depicts the real people behind the phrase 'collateral damage.' In our interviews with Iraqi civilians, we explored their hopes, fears, backgrounds, families, professions, and loves, as well as what they have endured throughout the war. The play is steeped in our belief that theatre has a distinct ability to create connections among individuals normally separated by geography, experience, nationality, or beliefs."

The design team includes Richard Hoover (set), Gabriel Berry (costume); David Lander (lighting) and David Robbins (sound).

NYTW's season will continue with Rebecca Gilman's adaptation of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (directed by Doug Hughes, November-December) and Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons' Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers (John Rubinstein directs in spring 2010).

Tickets to Aftermath at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street (between Second Avenue and Bowery), can be purchased by calling (212) 239-6200. For more information, visit NYTW.org.