Tragedy of Maila Kami

Wow...blew me away

Absolutely fantastic show. I was moved so much. The show was incredibly intense, well-acted and educational. I was left thinking for a long time afterwards.

Compelling & Gorgeous

This play conveys the history and a critique of both Nepali caste system and surprisingly U.S. caste system. While some parts were spoken in Nepali, the heart of the messaging was not lost because of Suraj’s impeccable acting. Suraj is also a skilled dancer and this helped make the piece not only gorgeous and striking, but it gave it a timeless feel, as culture and history move through dance. I cried twice just a little bit.

Context?

Interested in the subject matter, I added this show to my schedule but ending up leaving more confused than before it started. The physical movement/dancing was fluid and entrancing but the "stories" were very difficult to follow. Lacking understandable context (as a previous reviewer noted, only a portion of the dialog was in English), I found it challenging to emphathize with the performer's perspective and become a better champion.

I really wanted to like this show ...

... but it was a bit difficult. Most of the dialog is not in English and so it was hard to discern the story. I'm thinking that there was much there that the audience missed because of this. The little English could not have been a translation of the Nepalese because there wasn't enough of it. The subject matter is important, and I wished that it had been done in a way that was more accessible to us. The show is about 40 minutes long, and it ended in such a way that none of us could tell if it was over or not (the actor had left the stage minutes before any of us did, with no indication that it was the end). Perhaps we were meant to contemplate the subject, but again, there was too little there to contemplate much. The concept was a good one.

An invitation

to experience and contemplate how tragedy and injustice are not news headlines and chapters in history books but are real and right in front of us. Don’t be timid - participation is your prerogative.