The Marriage of
Munirih Khanum
Written and Performed by Bill George & Anisa George
“In His Name, the Glory of the Most Glorious! O Divine Providence! Thou seest and art a witness that all my limbs, my members, my heart, my soul, and my conscience bear testimony to the inexhaustible bounties which Thou hast showered upon this unworthy handmaiden at the Threshold from the beginning of her life.” —Munirih Khanum
The Marriage of Munirih Khanum opened September 14th., 2000 at Touchstone Theatre and immediately toured throughout Canada during the Fall of 2000. The work, based on the memoirs of Munirih Khanum, wife of Abdu’l Baha, “Center of the Covenant” of the Baha’i Faith, features puppetry, shadow work, music, and an approach to drama that transcends the literary.
Single performances: $1500
Accompanying workshops in the actor as creator,
pantomime, voice, and acting are available.
Significant discounts for multiple bookings or
residencies; be sure to ask.
For booking information please
contact:
Margot Laberge Hall,
92 S. Penn Dixie Rd., Nazareth, PA 18064 610-837-2741
A recent feature article for The Morning Call By Myra Yellin Outwater
It's
early morning and the only people inside Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem are
Bill George, his daughter Buffy Germaine and director Augustine Ripa, who are about to start
rehearsing Mr. George's new play, "The Marriage of Munirih Khanum," which opens
Thursday for a four-night run.
George and his daughter are
barefoot and dressed in worn jeans. Ripa wears a pink golf shirt and pressed
pants.
This play, a drama about
women, fate and marriage, is a collaborative effort. This is a work of love.
George
and his 18-year-old daughter, Buffy, wrote this two-person play together.
Ripa helps them share the stage with hand puppets, shadows, mask and an elegant set. An
Oriental rug defines the acting area. A pink-beige cloth hangs like a canopy on
a bare frame. Papier mache masks are in the rear. At the front of the stage sit
two Indian tabla drums. On one side, the puppet of the Munirih Khanum stands
motionless on a rack.
George and his wife, Bridget, have created unusual works that combine
mime and puppetry in the Lehigh Valley since the mid-1970s. And as George and
Buffy begin to rehearse, it is clear that he will not disappoint.
Buffy walks on stage, sits
cross-legged in front of the drums and begins to play. She has her mother's
delicate features and her father's lanky frame. She is an accomplished drummer.
The sound is an exotic mix of percussion and jazz. Buffy begins to sing Persian
chants from the Baha'i Faith. Her father stands under the canopy of the tent,
and translates: "Where can a
lover go
but to the land of his beloved? “
Buffy speaks to the puppet, Munirih, while her father manipulates it around the stage. It is a strange triangle, the father, the daughter and the presence of this historical 19th-century wise woman, Munirih, who married the son of the founder of the Baha'i faith, Abdu’l Baha. "When you write a play, you want a protagonist the audience can identify with," explains George. “ Buffy fulfills that role, but also, Munirih was an ordinary woman in many ways who happened to marry a famous man." As the play unfolds, it becomes apparent that it is not just the story of Munirih, but the story of a young girl, who, like Buffy, must make her own life journey. Munirih's mystical presence becomes a sounding board for a 21st-century coming of age. Buffy expresses the fears and worries of adolescence, and this personal confession adds a compelling dimension to the historic tale. This ability to blend life, art and poetry is what the George family thrives on.
Kingfisher Theatre Touring Foreigner The Kingfisher's Wing Walden Munirih Khanum