"POWERFUL, IMPASSIONED, VIVID, MEMORABLE!
Heather Raffo, an American actress of American and Iraqi heritage, is the sole performer on the stage, but she's far from lonely up there: she inhabits her characters with such compelling vibrancy that they do not entirely disappear when she moves from one to the next. The voices are a study in contrasts: vivid and subdued, sophisticated and naïve, seductive and standoffish. But they cohere to form a powerful collective portrait of suffering and endurance in Nine Parts of Desire, Ms. Raffo's impassioned theatrical documentary about the lives of contemporary Iraqi women. Ms.Raffo's portraits are all marked by vivid, memorable details, and a measure of lyricism is provided by her fluid and energetic performance,
which has been sensitively shaped by the director, Joanna Settle." -- Charles Isherwood , NEW YORK TIMES
"A TRIUMPH! THRILLING! AN EXAMPLE OF HOW ART CAN REMAKE THE WORLD!
In this remarkable one-woman show, Heather Raffo's performance is deft and vivacious; her writing, like her playing, is marked with wit and by a scrupulous attention to the details of character. Among the many felicities of the narrative is her ability to change not just character but tempo, which gives the play its particular thought-provoking wallop. Nine Parts Of Desire, directed by Joanna Settle, is an example of how art can remake the world."
-- John Lahr, THE NEW YORKER
“A BEAUTIFULLY SHAPED ONE-WOMAN PLAY! IT IS PERSUASIVE PRECISELY BECAUSE IT IS BEAUTIFUL.
SEE IT SOON! SEE IT TONIGHT!
Heather Raffo, the Iraqi-American playwright and performer of Nine Parts of Desire, directed by Joanna Settle, brings us closer to the inner life of Iraq than a thousand slick-surfaced TV reports. Yet her beautifully shaped one-woman play is a play, not a stodgily earnest piece of documentary theater, and therein lies its singular force and compulsion: it is persuasive precisely because it is beautiful. Each character is wholly believable. We believe in their reality because Ms. Raffo inhabits each one so fully, both as actor and as author, and because we never feel, not even for a moment, that she is making them tell us what we -- or she -- want to hear.” --Terry Teachout, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
"EXTREMELY MOVING!
An extremely moving, riveting and powerful piece of theater!" --Tina Brown, CNBC-TV
"POIGNANT! MOVING!
An indelible picture of the effect of the wars on very different Iraqi women." --Linda Winer, NEWSDAY
A VIVID, HEARTBREAKING, LIVING MOSAIC!
Heather Raffo fleshes out these women with such chameleon-like grace, with such a raging desire to tell the world about life in Iraq.
Let's hope that, after the show's SoHo stint, that she takes these women to stages around the world!
Joanna Settle's keenly paced production and Raffo's thoughtful, poetic writing brings a gallery of souls to life!"
-- Michael Sommers, STAR-LEDGER
"PROFOUNDLY MOVING! RATED A!
We've been told of the inhumanity Iraqi women experience. Told by men.
Coming from a woman's mouth – in this case, chameleonic actress-playwright Heather Raffo – the words cut bone deep.
It took nearly 10 years of research to give voice to these profoundly moving stories, and we only need to listen.
Rated: A" -- Melissa Rose Bernardo, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
"RIVETING! RAFFO DELVES WITH PASSION INTO HER SUBJECTS,
AND ONE CAN ONLY BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT SHE UNVEILS!
Heather Raffo performs her riveting solo show, Nine Parts of Desire, with the exactitude and artistry of an accomplished mosaicist. In a series of brief monologues, with consummate attention to character, she vividly inhabits nine distinct Iraqi women, based on a decade of interviews. Raffo's women, each uniquely colorful, merge to from a complex portrait of modern Iraqi identity!" - Adam Feldman, TIME OUT NEW YORK
“A DEEPLY STIRRING ONE-WOMAN SHOW!
Iraqi-American performer Heather Raffo spent a decade interviewing a cross section of Iraqi women to prepare this deeply stirring one-woman show. She takes no sides, only echoing the anguished voices of a nation torn apart by decades of repression, violence and war." -- Jorge Morales, VILLAGE VOICE
"HAUNTING! AMBITIOUS!
Raffo is a talented performer, and Nine Parts of Desire is a haunting, ambitious work!” -Robert Trussell, THE KANSAS CITY STAR
“COMPELLING!
“Raffo pours passion and expertise into each characterization, and the result is dramatically engaging theater! Raffo's poetic dialogue and acting skills have a powerful effect that keeps the intensity level high.” --William Wolf, WOLF ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE
GORGEOUS!
A gorgeous, versatile, powerful work! Ms. Raffo introduces us to a beautiful array of vibrant, warm, ordinary Iraqi women.”
-- Helen Shaw , NY SUN
"SPELLBINDING!
Illuminating and moving! Raffo's portraits project a spellbinding power!" --Marilyn Stasio, VARIETY
"BRILLIANT!
A brilliant, powerful, first-rate production.
Raffo jumps from one memorable character to the next, each with a heartbreaking story,
and yet a surprising amount of humor!" --Adam Klasfeld, THEATERMANIA
“SPECTACULAR!
NINE PARTS OF DESIRE IS PERHAPS THE MOST POWERFUL IN A LONG LINE OF ADVOCACY THEATER!
There is something special going on in the New York Theater world. Nine Parts of Desire is perhaps the most powerful in a long line of advocacy theater which has swept through New York in recent years. Ms. Raffo has done a great service in writing and performing this play. Her solo performance makes it even more spectacular, as she seamlessly shifts from one character to another, stitching together a narrative which gives the audience a deeper understanding of the world of Iraq 's women.” --Damaso Reyes, THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Full reviews
Testimonials
“The female half of Iraq has come to America .
That's the feeling you'll get as you watch the chameleon body, heart, mind and artistry of Heather Raffo in Nine Parts of Desire.
Don't miss this amazing theatrical experience!”
—GLORIA STEINEM
“Nine Parts of Desire is a stunning, vivid, and impressively acted production that movingly depicts the horrors faced by Iraqi women over the last century. Amnesty International has been publicizing the rights violations women face everywhere, and this play — without taking sides —translates these life threatening and life ruining experiences women face in an uncannily brilliant way to the stage. The play is so powerful, it can act as a catalyst to all of us to take steps to help ease the agony suffered by women in Iraq , as well as around the world.”
—Sheila Dauer
Director/Women's Human Rights Program
Amnesty International USA
“Nine Parts of Desire distills so much pain, resilience and hope that it reflects the very soul of Iraq .
I am the richer for having seen this stunning play. Heather Raffo is, ultimately, like myself, an ambassador for my country.
But while I communicate at an official level, Ms. Raffo communicates at a far more profound, human level.
Every American should see Nine Parts of Desire.”
— Ambassador Samir Shakir Suaidaie, Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations
“Nine Parts of Desire is an amazing play
with a powerful performance that will no doubt wake people up to the realities of the situation that Iraqi women are facing.
Everyone should see it!
Thank you for helping to bring the voices of Iraqi women to public attention.”
—JESSICA NEUWIRTH, President EQUALITY NOW
“Heather Raffo commands the stage in a larger than life performance in Nine Parts of Desire,
a profoundly moving play about the clash of cultures confronting Iraqi women today.
With dignity, depth and wit, Raffo convincingly does what women have always done:
play many parts in a drama where the protagonists (men) create the circumstances.
I urge everyone to see it!”
—Gloria Feldt, President - Planned Parenthood
“Nine Parts of Desire is a powerful piece of theater that still echoes within me.
The play — and Heather Raffo's performance as nine different Iraqi women — demands a moral response from all theatergoers.
It's a must see.”
—MOLLY KLOPOT, Chair
WOMEN'S INT'L LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM - NY METRO
“I learned more about the situation of women in Iraq from Raffo's one woman show than almost anything else I've read on the subject.
Raffo is astonishing as she enacts 9 different Iraqi women of all ages, shapes and sizes and
tells the story of their suffering, resistance and irrepressible humanity.
In addition to being riveting theater, Raffo's play tears down the pernicious stereotypes of Arab women
and illuminates the universality of women's oppression.
Go see this play - you will not look at Iraq in the same way again."
—JENNIFER FASULO, Executive Director
SOLIDARITY with the ORGANIZATION OF WOMEN'S FREEDOM IN IRAQ
Press Praise for Heather Raffo's 9 Parts of Desire
Palace Of The End by Judith Thompson Directed by Danielle Topol
"Directed with appropriate gravity by Daniella Topol, the monologues deal thoughtfully with awful subjects, and have an undeniable punch. The final piece is especially effective: Superbly incarnated by Raffo..."
Adam Feldman - Time Out New York / Issue 665 : Jun 25–Jul 3, 2008
Heather Raffo
Actor/Playwright
