Hedgerow Theatre Company presents Mashuq Mushtaq Deen’s Draw the Circle

Draw the Circle follows Deen as he transcends the boxes placed around him by religion, his parents, and society while he transitions in the early 2000s. The story is told almost exclusively through the lens of others, centering on Deen’s deeply conservative mother, his father (with truly awful dad jokes), and his white, supportive, non-Muslim partner, Molly. One of the main storylines features Molly and Deen as they fight their way through traffic to see Deen’s parents for Thanksgiving after years of not seeing each other due to conflicts around Deen’s gender identity and presentation.

A meaningful premiere

Through a series of flashback vignettes, we get glimpses of Deen’s pre-transition self, Shireen, in her teen and early adult years. A high-school friend shares a harrowing peek at Shireen’s diary, which has a list of 10 ways to kill herself. She suffers from mental health issues and intense body dysmorphia, where having a flat chest sometimes becomes more important than being able to breathe. Throughout the play Deen’s mom expresses her desire for her daughter to be someone who fits in; in a particularly somber moment, Deen’s mom expresses her pain: since Shireen is no longer her daughter, she has no one to fulfill the filial Muslim duties of a daughter to wash her mother’s body after death.

It was special to see a play that was partially developed at InterAct come to our region in the hands of Joseph Ahmed, a local gender-fluid South Asian actor. Under director Andrew Watring, Ahmed tackles the titanic challenge of playing a large ensemble of characters with aplomb, changing postures, mannerisms, and accents seamlessly, all while keeping the audience rapt.

Projections (Michael Long) help the audience differentiate the characters, as well as accent work guided by dialect coach Gukiran Kaur. The set (Dahlia Al-Habieli) and lights (Lily Fossner) add an additional layer, with clothing (e.g. a Sari, scrubs, or a vest) highlighted behind a sheer curtain to help us visualize the characters. The use of props, such as a coat hanger, a leather jacket, or a hat help to create a sense of a two-hander (costumes by Saawan Tiwari).

With a runtime of an hour and 40 minutes, Draw the Circle is on the long side for a solo show. While the pacing here is good, paring back a few points of view would create a tighter script. If Deen adapted the play into something for two or three actors, it would be easier to include some of the smaller supporting characters, for the richness and different perspectives each one brings.

We need trans and immigrant voices

As some US leaders constantly draw circles to exclude and eliminate certain people, and polarizing politics are the norm, it is refreshing to see a play that draws in audiences from all walks of life. Instead of demonizing those who don’t understand him, Deen shows us their humanity and growth throughout his own messy journey. His efforts with parents who do not understand him are an ode to the persistence and power of love.

Trans and immigrant rights are in peril today in America, with ICE murders and kidnappings, court rulings banning trans athletes, and legislation denying gender-affirming care. It has never been more important to listen to trans and immigrant voices. Draw the Circle is Hedgerow’s best effort yet to embody its mission for the transformative power of theater to bring people together. Take this chance to sob, laugh, and celebrate a pioneering trans playwright who fought so hard to be seen.