The Who & the What

“Matters of faith and family, gender and culture are stirred together into a fiery-flavored stew” in a new play from the Pulitzer Prize–winning dramatist (New York Times).

Zarina has a bone to pick with the place of women in her Muslim faith, and she's been writing a book about the Prophet Muhammad that aims to set the record straight. When her traditional father and sister discover the manuscript, it threatens to tear her family apart. With humor and ferocity, Ayad Akhtar's incisive new drama about love, art, and religion examines the chasm between our traditions and our contemporary lives.

“Crackles with intelligence and behavioral truth. . . . Akhtar is so eminently gifted in writing scenes that quake with powerful emotion. . . . The moments of strife, both religious and romantic, are frighteningly believable.” —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times

“A thought-provoking work . . . Akhtar [is] one of theater's most vibrant, exciting young writers.” —Mark Kennedy,Associated Press

“Like Zarina's messy, impassioned book, The Who and The What stirs the pot in unexpectedly dramatic ways.” —Jason Clark, Entertainment Weekly

“Gutsy and very admirable. . . . Not a script to miss.” —Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune