Jackalope Theatre: Dummy In Diaspora Review
Esho Rasho
Jackalope Theatre Presents DUMMY IN DIASPORA Review - My Favorite American Story
TLDR: Dummy in Diaspora takes us on a journey through one gay man’s experience growing up as the son of Middle Eastern refugees in the United States. It’s a short, one man show that pulls together significant moments that will speak to a lot of audience members with the same experiences.
Esho Rasho
Jackalope Presents A One Man Show with Simple, Yet Effective Staging
Walking into the Jackalope Theatre space, we’re greeted by wall to wall floor carpets. Some lay on the stage and others literally hung from the ceiling. Small artifacts decorate the stage like a hookah, a teacup, and a statue of the Virgin Mary. A rack of various clothing items stands off to the side and some furniture finish this cozy and eclectic room.
With an ennui that can only come from being a young, gay man in his 20s, our star of the show, Essa, lounges on the small loveseat couch in the middle of the stage. He takes a pull from his vape and turns towards us in the audience slowly. After the cloud of smoke clears, he stands. He starts his story at the beginning, literally the beginning of the beginning, before he was even born. He tells us the traumatic story of his birth and how that moment becomes a running theme for the rest of his life during Dummy in Diaspora.
Snippets of Memories Form His Story
Quickly though, we move to his next memory, a happier one - his first experience with a man - and then we’re off on this 70 minute journey of his time growing up in the United States. He tells his stories as if these memories are randomly coming to him in that moment. We move quickly from one to the next, jumping around to different points in time.
A video call chimes and he sits in the armchair as his online therapist. He takes us back to high school and becomes the jock Mac D. leaning back on the couch, manspreading and laughing at him during class. The lights change and he’s at a nightclub in Milan trying to find his friend. His hand goes on his hip and he immediately becomes his mother telling him that being gay is just a phase. Esho tells his stories with charm and humor. He pokes fun at situations, like how overdramatic his family can be and how he may have overreacted to a man going down on him the first time.
He covers everything from religion, to the death of the family cat, to learning English, to wishing he could be what his parents wanted him to be. Even though his story is told in snippets of memories, each one carries a significant weight that has formed Essa’s being.
Esho Rasho
The After Party Thoughts
One particular moment becomes the crux of the show and it pulls together how this is so many American people’s stories. Dummy in Diaspora will resonate with those who came from a similar background. These significant moments of finding yourself when you’re caught between your home life, which may lean more traditional, and your life outside of your family as you assimilate to American culture.
For those who may be gay, or a child of immigrant parents, or both, Essa’s story will most likely resonate with you. For everyone else, Dummy in Diaspora would also be a good fit for those that love coming of age, feel good stories and ones that move quickly through time or space with one man quickly becoming all the characters in his story.
RECOMMENDED
Esho Rasho
When
Now through March 23, 2025
Where
Broadway Armory Park
5917 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL 60660
Runtime: 70 minutes, no intermission
Tickets
$15+
Tickets can be purchased through the Jackalope Theatre website
Photos
Joel Maisonet
Find Allie and The After Party featured on Theatre In Chicago
Esho Rasho
CAST
Esho Rasho (Essa)
CREATIVE
Director – Karina Patel
Stage Manager – Miguel Salgado, Jr.
Production Manager – Amal Mazen Salem
Scenic/Prop Designer & Scenic Painter – Olivia Volk
Lighting Designer – Maaz Ahmed
Sound Designer – Newton Schottelkotte
Technical Director – Juan Barrera López
Lead Engineer – Chase Barron
Developmental Assistant – Hallie Snowday
Social Media Campaign Assistant – Leah Brock