‘Homegrown‘ was easily the production that stirred up the most controversy– and national attention– at this year’s Toronto indie theatre and arts festival, Summerworks.

The title borrows from the oft-repeated phrase referring to ‘homegrown terrorists’– born and raised in “this country”, or at least, calling it a permanent home.

A true story, based on real events and experiences of the playwright Catherine Frid, ‘Homegrown’ centres around a seemingly unlikely friendship between the young man, Shareef Abdelhaleem, arrested and accused of terrorism in 2006 as part of the so-called ‘Toronto 18′, and, the lawyer/playwright, who is determined to separate the facts of the case from the secrecy, delays and media spin (easier said than done).

Catching wind of this play, sight unseen, the city’s all too reactionary daily, the Toronto Sun, kicked the outrage in to high gear, declaring on its front page ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, which apparently your tax dollars paid for via meagre arts funding.  Rival media outlets, columnists, the festival Board themselves and even the Prime Minister’s office, to name a few, all decided to weigh in too. If the point was to dissuade people from supporting the production, it was wildly unsuccessful. Nothing sells tickets faster than good old fashioned outrage. The performance opened to sold out crowds packed in to the Theatre Passe Murailles.

Going to see it on closing night– it was still just as full.

The Toronto Star review of the play does sum up nicely that ‘Homegrown’ is: “Definitely not a play that supports or romanticizes terrorism, but one that raises some interesting questions about the government’s purchase of undercover “moles” to entrap and deliver so-called terrorists, often at prices well into the millions.”

While acknowledging the heinousness of plotting to execute a terrorist attack, with the benefit of the playwright’s legal background, this production also succinctly raises important questions about the disregard for due process, and questionable carriage of justice in the name of national security, and government paranoia.

The deep sense of responsibility in telling the story of the case is apparent, but even more so is the story of the Abdelhaleem the playwright came to know– talkative, funny, conflicted, impulsive, a cat-lover, and at times, quite insightful– not merely an accused terrorist. Though at times, you are unsure as to what Abdelhaleem’s initial motivation was at all in getting involved in the situation that imprisoned him, there is sense of necessity for the playwright to explain her own motivations in continuing to pursue his case, and that friendship: for the love of Canada, for the importance of questioning government in defense of democracy (messy but necessary, as her character surmises), and at the expense of her personal relationships (played out in a bit of a cliched way, but understood nonetheless).

Seasoned actor, Shannon Perreault, plays Catharine, and third year law student/actor Lwam Ghebrehariat, portrays Abdelhalleem, are strongest in their interplay, and performances, which carried the show.

Though, it must be said, the cast does an outstanding job in a play where the script was often heavy on exposition, and the transitions abrupt, though perhaps purposefully so.

The deliberateness of the play, does strip away some of the necessary grey area, and vulnerability required to make a story like this connect on an even deeper level. However, in the limited 75 mins timeframe, the story brushes on the fear of the Muslim community, in initially standing up for the accused Toronto 18, scared of being implicated and of the backlash, as well as the religiosity of the various accused, including our protagonist, and how that plays out. These are themes worth exploring further, if not in the context of this play, and perhaps by a different craftperson.

For all its creases, this in a timely and necessary production– there is much to learn from this story, and in reflecting on what has occurred specifically, and broadly, in our world since the Toronto 18 arrests in 2006. Even more so, it is a story that must be told and defended fearlessly in the face of reactionaries, and fear-mongerers, who would prefer we don’t question the increasingly prejudiced, and close-minded, status quo.

In Adelhaleem’s own words, echoed in the production, “I am not looking for pity or sympathy. I’m just looking for someone to listen.” That’s the least that can be done.

—

The Torontoist has an interesting interview with playwright Catherine Frid and director Beatriz Pizano :: The Homegrown Controversy

Photo & Video Credit: Homegrown Project