Umut and Janina meet and fall in love in Istanbul, where rebellion simmers amongst the queer and displaced youth. Using video recordings and phone calls to fight against physical and emotional distance, Umut is caught between the momentum of sociopolitical change at home and the promise of a quieter life in Berlin with Janina. By turns explosive and intimate, Will You Come With Me? explores the chaos and complexities of living through an uprising with generosity, love, and tenderness.

While bearing the specifics of Istanbul and Berlin, Will You Come With Me? resonates anywhere activist movements have been met with force and setbacks-and among anyone who has found love tested by a profound gap in experience. Subverting the tendency for stories surrounding authoritarianism to center, or even name, those who wield power, the play gives voice to those who resist, even after vast swaths of a movement have been suppressed or disappointed into submission. It examines the emotional toll relentless struggle takes, and the sense of unity it brings to those whose bodies, sexualities, and gender presentations have been made into battlegrounds

Produced by PlayCo

FeaturingLayla Khoshnoudi and Maribel Martinez

 

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Set Design: Afsoon Pajoufar

Costume Design: Enver Chakartash

Lighting Design: Reza Behjat

Sound Design and Original Music: Avi Amon

Projections Design: Stefania Bulbarella and Dee Lamar Mills

Production Stage Manager: Christina M. Woolard

Production Manager: Stuart Parman
Translation: Kate Ferguson

Company and House Manager: Daniel George

Artwork: Desiree Nasim

Photos by Julieta Cervantes