Shortlisted for the QWF Prize, Playwriting, 2018

It is 2007, and Iraq is roiling under the American occupation. Fractured by warring political factions, threatened by Islamic fundamentalism, preyed on by American industrialists, it is a place where the cry of a dying child often goes unheard. Against this backdrop, the Americans prepare to host the Conference for Democracy and the Salvation of Iraq, a glittering assembly of powerful Iraqis and Americans. One day, at the checkpoint in front of the conference, a little girl called Ghazal Ahad in search of her father is shot by an unidentified American soldier.

As the conference unfolds, American commanders struggle to contain the fallout from the "incident." Nonetheless, a Sheikh declares a fatwa, the Iraqi prime minister finds his government threatened, and the commander in charge, Hektor, who harbors a secret past, is forced to protect both the army and himself. At the centre of this chaos unfolds an intensely private drama of grief, revenge and forgiveness. As the turmoil tightens around them, we are led to question not only what comprises "war" and "terror," but how, where and by whom the real "war on terror" is fought...

Rahul Varma is a playwright, essayist, and community activist. Born in 1952 in India, he moved to Canada in 1976. In 1981, he co-founded Teesri Duniya Theatre (Teesri Duniya means â??third worldâ?? in Hindi), which is a professional, multicultural company that produces socially relevant theatre examining issues of cultural representation and diversity in Canada. Rahul became the companyâ??s artistic director in 1986. To advance the companyâ??s mandate, he launched the theatre quarterly alt.theatre: cultural diversity and the stage in 1998. He made his first forays into English language with a series of one-act plays that included Job Stealer, Isolated Incident, and Equal Wages. With Land Where The Trees Talk, in 1989, he turned his attention to the creation of full-length plays. His full-length works include No Manâ??s Land, the radio drama Trading Injuries, Counter Offence, and his most recent work, Bhopal. Counter Offence has been translated into French as Lâ??Affaire Farhadi and Italian as Il Caso Farhadi. Bhopal has been translated into French under the same title and has also been translated into Hindi and Urdu by Indiaâ??s pre-eminent director Habib Tanvir under the name Zahreeli Hawa. Rahul lives in Montreal with his wife and his daughter.

Rahul Varma's profile page