Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...In essence, "I Call My Brothers" is a portrait of anxiety - Khemiri is exploring how the fears of a broader community can be so manifest inside one man that he even goes so far as to consider his own potential guilt. The play does not claim that the need to find the perpetrator of an attack is unreasonable - it merely asks us to consider the impact on a fellow human being."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...I Call My Brothers is a portrait of the anxiety that results from the invisibility and hypervisibility of being "other"-the unfair responsibility given to any member of such a group, the unintended election to said group, and the impossibility of simply being an uninflected individual, no matter how outre or annoying. Salar Ardebili is a mercurial Amor, leading a strong cast directed by Abhi Shrestha at Interrobang."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...Sharply directed by Abhi Shrestha on the intimate stage at Rivendell Theatre in Edgewater, on a set that is simple, yet stunningly draws the eye to the art work (Eleanor Kahn) with lighting (Michelle E. Benda) that helps in propelling the story and the fear of our hero and original music and sound (Jeffrey Levin) that once again, fits the picture being painted for us by Khemiri and Shrestha."
Rescripted - Somewhat Recommended
"...Yet, the moments of beauty are ultimately tainted by an underbelly of toxic masculinity and the perpetuation of harm against women enacted by men (of color). This hit me hard, and more questions of intention versus impact surfaced as I struggled to keep my eyes open due to the violence. With the lack of brown and Black stories on stage, Amor becomes a sort of everyman. His experience becomes the experiences of brown and Black folks being followed and targeted based on misguided perceptions. Though no human is perfect, Amor does so much harm in a position he never wanted."
Chicago On Stage - Recommended
"...Fortunately for Cody Parkey, by all accounts he has been able to tune out the howling wind of vitriol swirling about him. But he is a football player, a member of an elite class of Americans, and he knows that, ultimately, it's just a game. Amor has no such knowledge, for anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim anger has run deep in the western world ever since 9/11. And though he should feel safety in his home city, safety is not going to come. I Call My Brothers is an unusual, compelling, emotionally wrenching play that is, unfortunately, unlikely to be seen by the audience that needs it the most. This is not a perfect play, but those who do see it will know they have witnessed something unique and memorable."
PicksInSix - Recommended
"...A compelling aspect of this work is how Khemiri's characters process responsibility, to themselves, and to others. In the aftermath of the car bombings, Amor faces the realization that his nationality and appearance make him a suspect, which in turn requires him to heed the circumspect chanting of a chorus of voices to alter his routine, to "blend in and normalize." "The goal is to be invisible," they say, although Amor's every day acts of riding the train and taking a cellphone call are precisely observed as suspicious activities."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...The private scope of the play takes on a public dimension as Khemiri delves into the insider/outsider identities of Arabs living in a Scandinavian democracy. For this community, "The goal is to blend in...to be invisible...don't attract attention." If so, with whom do you share your soul and entrust your safety? In I CALL MY BROTHERS, calling your nearest and dearest is one way to find out."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Directed by Abhi Shrestha, translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles and presented by Interrobang Theatre Project, Jonas Hassen Khemiri's "I Call My Brothers" is a fever performance poem addressing these questions, a meditation on identity, community; what faking it looks like, and what faking it feels like."
