Unburdened: A New Play by Rehan Ansari

Unburdened is set in the time around President Obama's inauguration when Robin, a journalist from Toronto, goes to Karachi. Robin becomes consumed with our inability to truly comprehend what it is to live inside a war. He glimpses our enemy's point of view: We see an argument for militancy that has a global audience. We observe Robin's struggles through his partner Katherine's eyes as he feverishly communicates with her over the phone and Skype. In Karachi Robin stays with Attiya and Saad, his elderly aunt and uncle who have lived with a terrible secret over the course of their 60-year relationship that began amidst the Partition of India. Robin also meets Nazia, a young Pakistani musician. Robin's time in Pakistan brings a dramatic focus to Robin and Katherine's mixed heritage family history (his mother is Pakistani, her father is Jewish).

Rehan is a Brooklyn-based writer. A Karachi native and a graduate of Vassar College, Rehan was a working journalist in New York during 9/11 and in Mumbai during the attacks in 2008. He travelled to Pakistan in the aftermath of both, and Unburdened is based on his experiences.

Rehan's work has appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, The Globe & Mail, and as a columnist for Mid-day Mumbai. He has been Editor Independent Press Association-New York, and Foreign Editor Daily News & Analysis in Mumbai. His play Damme This is the Oriental Scene for You! (adapted from the writings of G.V. Desani) had a three-week run at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto. He is at work on a novel.

Reading followed by a Q & A.