Baggage From Baghdad: Becoming My Father's Daughter

Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming My Father’s Daughter is a gripping, award-winning solo show that is timely as it mirrors today's growing intolerance of race and religion in our own backyards and worldwide, written and performed by Valerie David. Due to religious persecution during the 1941 “Farhud pogrom,” Valerie’s paternal Middle Eastern Jewish family was forced to flee Iraq and build a new home in America.

This play highlights her family’s struggle to immigrate to a new land and transcend their harrowing past, so that love and the importance of family triumph.

Valerie states, “It’s not just a Jewish story, but a narrative that anyone can relate to: having to immigrate to another country, being forced to evacuate during wartime, suffering bullying, and the ramifications of having to adapt to a foreign culture that’s not so welcoming.”

Baggage From BaghDAD finds humor and hope, even in the darkest of times. It recounts how this painful legacy shaped Valerie’s own life and her evolving relationship with her father, uncovering a story of survival, identity, and ultimately, reconciliation.

Three Performance Dates

Thursday, September 17 @ 7:15 pm

Saturday, September 19 @ 3:45 pm

Sunday, September 20 @ 4:30 pm

Venue

Asian Arts Initiative Third Floor (stairs and elevator)
1219 Vine Street Philadelphia, PA 19107

Runtime: 60 minutes. Mature content.

Tickets: $25 or pay-what-you-can
Link for tickets: Baggage From BaghDAD tickets

Baggage From BaghDAD accolades:

• The Spoken Word & Theatre Award at the 2022 Stockholm Fringe Festival
• Nominated for the Grand Prix Award at the 2022 Stockholm Fringe Festival
• Winner, Best Play by the 2022 Sweden Broadway World Regional Awards
• Semi-finalist for the 2021 Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award
• Awarded the Lower Manhattan Cultural Center Grant