SAMSARA

Theater: Victory Gardens
Role: Suraiya

Synopsis: Americans Katie and Craig are having a baby with Suraiya, a surrogate from India. As all three “parents” anxiously await the baby’s due date, Katie and Suraiya are attacked by flights of their imagination: a seductive Frenchman and a sharp-tongued fetus. A smart world premiere comedy taking us on a hilarious and highly theatrical journey into 21st century parenthood.  Written by Lauren Yee, directed by Seth Bockley.

“Humanity – as manifest by a group of very fine actors with skin in the game – wins the day.””Genuinely moving.” “Bockley comes through, his actors help pull him there.” “Daire, Myers and Dempsey are all so good, they pull you into their dilemmas.” “There’s a throbbing play here with a bleeding heart and a laudable awareness of how we sometimes only get one shot at happiness or escape, and of how macroeconomics and geopolitics don’t always embrace personal need.”

– Chris Jones, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

“darkly whimsical,”  “the exceptionally lovely Arya Daire, in a performance of ideally calibrated emotion,”  “it is the conversation between surrogate mother and unborn child — some of it acerbic, some of it poignant, all of it hugely engaging — that shows Yee at her sparkling best.”

-Hedy Weiss, CHICAGO SUN TIMES

“lithe and very funny,” “the play’s playful style doesn’t diminish the weight of its substance. Yee, Bockley and their gung ho cast ensure every character…is fully drawn.”

-Kris Vire, TIME OUT CHICAGO

“Is this the future of theatre? If so, how exciting.”  “an unforgettable experience. (Yee) has a special talent for incorporating the everyday with the fantastic, illuminating the deepest doubts and regrets of our minds in a way that’s uplifting and topical.”

-John Accrocco, BUZZNEWS.NET

“As Suraiya, Daire brings a terrifically warm, maternal feeling to the role, along with an inner wisdom and strength.”

-CHICAGO STAGE STANDARD

a “vibrantly generous cast”

-Alex Huntsberger, NEW CITY STAGES

“Deftly combining hilarity with heart, humor with timeliness, “Samsara” had its opening night audience laughing hysterically throughout its performance and gamely conversing over the struggles of its characters in the lobby just after.”  “‘Samsara’ peeks into a world where the most visceral of our human desires meets with the globalism of the 21st century.”  “a first-rate cast”  “‘Samsara’ also illustrates the need to laugh at our own absurdity, even as our hearts break in wake of our desires.”

-Colleen Cottet, EDGE MEDIA NETWORK