THE ARCHIVIST by Shaista Latif (Latif/SummerWorks). At the Pia Bouman Scotiabank Studio Theatre. Aug 5 at 5:30 pm, Aug 6 at 8:15 pm, Aug 11 at 8:15 pm, Aug 12 at 6:15 pm. See listing. Rating: NNNN
Shaista Latifs bold, funny and inspiring autobiographical solo show takes the form of a personal scrapbook brought to life.
Through stories, family photographs and videos, personal artifacts and clips from formative 80s and 90s TV shows and movies, Latif weaves a compelling and at times hilarious multimedia narrative about her experience growing up poor in Scarborough public housing after her family emigrated from Afghanistan.
Latif is a confident, immediately affable performer with a background in comedy, so even though some parts are extremely serious like stories about her parents dangerous work as political activists in Afghanistan, or about being viciously bullied by white kids on the playground her delivery and stage presence feels fun and captivating.
Importantly, she uses her personal story to make potent political arguments, one of which is to subvert present-day Western views of Afghanistan. In one disturbing-yet-comical sequence, she pairs the song A Whole New World from Disneys Aladdin with footage of violent protests, fighter jets and drones. In another moment, she shows old photos and home movies of her parents who she says identify as atheists living an affluent and cosmopolitan life in Kabul.
There is a lot going on in her bricolage approach: stories about her traumatic first day of school, or her parents favouring her little brother, are paired with clips from The Care Bears, The Young And The Restless and Soviet propaganda films. But with guidance from mentor Nadia Ross the result never feels rushed, disorganized or overwhelming.
Her work also invites reflexive reflection: if this assemblage is her story, what would yours look like?
See interview with Latif here.
