'Invasion!' in Chicago

Swedish born celebrated author and playwright Jonas Hassen Khemiri translated and adapted for a U.S. audience. 

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  Kamal Hans, Dan Johnson,Glenn Stanton, and Amira Sabbagh in the Chicago production of Hassen Khemiri's 'Invasion!' Photo: Silk Road Rising

• Chicago-based theatre company Silk Road Rising is currently showing Jonas Hassen Khemiri's 2006 debut play 'Invasion!' originally written for Stockholms Stadsteater (Stockholm City Theatre). The play assaults our prejudices about identity, race and language. It has been described as both hilarious and disturbing while deconstructing a threatening identity – the Arabic male – forcing us to confront our own cultural identity.

• The undoubtedly gifted Swedish author has been in the limelight this year not so much for his writing fiction as his open letter to Swedish Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask: 'Dear Beatrice..' on racism and racial profiling in Sweden. The letter, which describes many of the prejudices brought forward in Hassen Khemiri's aforementioned play did not go unanswered and several other first- or second-generation immigrants reacted, disagreeing with the picture of a racially divided Sweden. Jonas, my friend by Bosnian Swedish Jasenko Selimović and Swedish-Italian poet, author, columnist and second-generation immigrant, Marcus Birro:We are in this dream together

• Be that as it may, Silk Road Rising's critically acclaimed production is an opportunity to enjoy one of Sweden's most interesting young authors and playwrights Invasion! - a play by Jonas Hassen Khemiri in Chicago

• Nordstjernan interview with author Jonas Hassan Khemiri after his debut novel "One Eye Red" was released in the U.S.: Caught between 'kanelbullar' and baklava