Trailblazing Play 'Iraq, But Funny' Is Both Hilarious and Heartfelt

Newsweek

4 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
It is not every day that the Assyrian language, the modern version of what Jesus Christ spoke, is heard in theatres, but "Iraq, But Funny," a satirical play showing at Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre, is changing that. The unique production, written by Second City alum and Chicago native Atra Asdou and directed by Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient Dalia Ashurina, two female Assyrian Americans, is showing through July 20, and is making its mark in more ways than one.
"I wrote this play to get some of the stories that have lived in my family out and onto paper, and because there was a lack of comedies in traditional American theatre about Iraq and Assyrians, written by Assyrians or Iraqis. I wanted to show a side of our people audiences here rarely get to see, and I wanted to make us all laugh, too," Asdou told Newsweek. She also stars in the play.
Atra Asdou in "Iraq, But Funny," by Ensemble Member Atra Asdou and directed by Dalia Ashurina, from Lookingglass Theatre Company, now playing through July 20 at The Joan and Paul Theatre at Water Tower Water...
Atra Asdou in "Iraq, But Funny," by Ensemble Member Atra Asdou and directed by Dalia Ashurina, from Lookingglass Theatre Company, now playing through July 20 at The Joan and Paul Theatre at Water Tower Water Works, 163 E. Pearson St. at Michigan Ave. in Chicago. More
Photo Courtesy of Sandro Miller
Through Asdou's smart and hilarious re-telling of world history narrated by TEG or The English Gentleman, she takes the audience through a crash-course of the Brits' mess of an involvement in Western Asia, also known as the Middle East, via multiple jabs at the British Empire—notorious for its colonization and dismal human rights record.
"Iraq, But Funny"—four and a half years in the works and voted into this season by the Lookingglass Ensemble—fixates on five generations of Assyrian women (no, they're not the same thing as Syrian), who take ownership of their own stories throughout the play.
"I joke and say it took me four and a half years to write, but this is a story 100, even 6,775 years in the making. We cover over 100 years in the play, and my [Assyrian] ancestors have been around for 6,775 years," Asdou said.
Assyrians are indigenous to the Middle East and the play covers their survival of genocide in the early 20th century to the modern era.
James Rana, Susaan Jamshidi, Gloria Imseih Petrelli, and Sina Pooresmaeil in "Iraq, But Funny," by Ensemble Member Atra Asdou and directed by Dalia Ashurina, from Lookingglass Theatre Company, now playing through July 20 at The...
James Rana, Susaan Jamshidi, Gloria Imseih Petrelli, and Sina Pooresmaeil in "Iraq, But Funny," by Ensemble Member Atra Asdou and directed by Dalia Ashurina, from Lookingglass Theatre Company, now playing through July 20 at The Joan and Paul Theatre at Water Tower Water Works, 163 E. Pearson St. at Michigan Ave. in Chicago. More
Photo Courtesy of Ricardo Adame
"I hope audiences have a greater understanding of how we got to where we are politically and socially, and how they can choose better for their own lives, even in small ways. I hope Assyrians feel a sense of freedom from the ways they've been taught life has to be," director Dalia Ashurina told Newsweek. "I hope non-Assyrians feel seen in people they may have never heard of before. I hope everyone laughs."
Asdou's quick wit and razor-sharp dialogue (she integrates audience members into the show) are both entertaining and refreshing. One moment theatregoers are laughing and the next they are faced with heartfelt scenes featuring jinaneh, which Asdou described as "mournful folk songs a singer improvise[s] and sings at a funeral, to help people grieve through their loss." The jinaneh you hear during the play sound like you're listening to prayers.
"I wrote them as poems with the intention for them to be jinaneh. Our Assyrian language coach, Ninawa Chimon, helped to edit my Assyrian translations. And our brilliant musical composer, Avi Amon, composed the music for the show. With the help of our director Dalia Ashurina and sound designer Christie Chiles Twillie, we made sure the songs were delivered as intended. Turns out, it takes a village to deliver a folk song," Asdou said.
Atra Asdou in "Iraq, But Funny," by Ensemble Member Atra Asdou and directed by Dalia Ashurina, from Lookingglass Theatre Company, now playing through July 20 at The Joan and Paul Theatre at Water Tower Water...
Atra Asdou in "Iraq, But Funny," by Ensemble Member Atra Asdou and directed by Dalia Ashurina, from Lookingglass Theatre Company, now playing through July 20 at The Joan and Paul Theatre at Water Tower Water Works, 163 E. Pearson St. at Michigan Ave. in Chicago. More
Photo Courtesy of Ricardo Adame
Humor becomes the means to which some communities make sense of their challenging circumstances, especially through war and conflict. How else does one mentally combat constant warfare than to find the humor in it all? According to one study, humor has been found to help alleviate mental health issues post-conflict and is considered to be an "effective coping mechanism, a way of fighting back and taking control." Taking control of one's narrative is a central theme highlighted in IBF.
The play's stellar cast includes Gloria Imseih Petrelli, Susaan Jamshidi, James Rana, and Sina Pooresmaeil, whose pronunciation of Assyrian words are praiseworthy aside from their powerful acting. The play is predominantly in English.
This isn't Chicago's first theatre production showcasing contemporary Assyrian voices and stories, a rare feat in a city home to the world's largest population of Assyrians outside their homeland, an estimated 100,000—forced to leave their ancestral land due to ongoing religious and ethnic persecution.
Esho Rasho's solo coming of age show "Dummy in Diaspora," (directed by Karina Patel) at the Jackalope Theatre in February 2025, highlighted his queerness in a usually conservative Assyrian upbringing. And Iraqi-born Assyrian Martin Yousif Zebari's "Layalina," (directed by Sivan Battat) debuted at the Goodman Theatre in March 2023, taking audiences from Baghdad, Iraq, to Skokie, Ill. through the lens of an Assyrian family making sense of their newfound home.
Assyrian culture is being re-introduced to the arts through these stories taking life on stage—moving audiences past the iconic stone-carved lamassu (protective deities) of antiquity—and humanizing an ancient people that have endured a great deal.
Next to take center stage is "Gilgamesh, the Opera," inspired by the world's oldest work of literature, "The Epic of Gilgamesh." The production, commissioned by The Assyrian Arts Institute and produced by Nora Betyousef Lacey, is set to premiere on March 28, 2026, at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, in Los Angeles, Calif.
"I hope 'Iraq, But Funny' continues to be there for audiences all over—to remind us all of our humanity and allow us to feel seen and see others, as we belly-laugh through the horrors," Asdou said.
"Iraq, But Funny" runs until July 20 at Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre.