In My Dakest Hour Peace Will Come To Me

Baghdaddy just became my new favourite Off-Broadway musical. I usually have my very mixed feelings about stories concerning the Iraq war, as you don’t see too many being told from the Iraqi perspective, aside from a few documentaries out there and Bahman Ghobadi’s Turtles Can Fly (2004), which was the first film made in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. But I guess that’s why I really like Baghdaddy. The play documents the events leading up to the war on Iraq, taking place in three countries: Iraq, Germany and America, but the central character is the Iraqi defector known only by his code-name ‘’Curveball’’ (a story we’re all kind of familiar with). There’s no biased pro-American themes nor does it dehumanise the enemy. It doesn’t choose sides or point fingers. Each character, regardless of ethnicity, is portrayed as equally flawed, human individuals, who were just ordinary people like you or me trying to do their job, but made a mistake, which ultimately cost lives. The actions of the characters in said musical make me think how they affect the lives of Ghobadi’s Kurdish children in the refugee camps. It’s supposed to be a satire, but it does leave you something to think about.

For more information, visit their website: baghdaddymusical.com/

Baghdaddy © Marshall Pailet