Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
Taking a deep breath, calling her ancestors in the anti-galactic bathhouse, singing and scrabbling her body all over with joy and perseverance, Edib Farhan presents Syrian Soap, which she wrote. With extremely bold choices, she’s pretty exposed throughout the play, freedom and determination she is finding out if she is her ancestors wildest dreams or nightmares.
The phone is constantly ringing and she gives us that ring with ‘ring ring ring’. We can hear two voices when she has a fun conversation over the phone, one is hers and the other one is somebody’s on the other side. Bubbles are really fun and are used in the form of bubble-wraps in the little pool, and we all got little bubble-tubes upon entrance. We also got a cup of a tasty, and deliciously warm tea, when we checked in.
She survived the dessert. Using pan-Arab colors green-white-black tree band with either two or three green stars, known as an independence flag, celebrating her parents return to Syria, for the first time since their exile from their country for dissent.
Many hands shaped this bathhouse! Directed and co-devised by Natasha Mercado the creativeness in this production is expressed with a full success. As a performer, writer, and director whose work lives where vulnerability and absurdity meet, she uses her craft to the fullest.
Creative consulting from Zahra Noorbakhsh, Claire Woolner, Mike Rose, and Andel Sudik gives us an anxious concrete problem to the Syrian Revolution, and an end to the inextricable struggle for liberation of Palestine.
Farhan is playing with the audience a lot. She uses them while sitting in the audience and also by bringing them on the stage. She is very flexible, uses her body with a comfortable ease. With act of love for her ancestors, she uses the mustaches and has them all over her body.
Syrian Soap is running at Broadwater Blackbox, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 90036, from June 13-20, 2026. The performances are on June 13th at 10:30 pm, June 17th at 8:00 pm, June 18th at 9:30 pm. and June 20th at 3:30 pm.
Tickets are $15. Running time is 60 minutes.
Link: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13456
If you wish to receive unsolicited advice, poetry, and a surprise visit from a Syrian bathroom slipper in this silly odd to revolution and self expression, go and see this solo-show.
Publicity is done by Sandra Kuker PR (Sandra Kuker-Franco)