On the weekend of May 7th and 8TH members of the Montreal Armenian community had the pleasure of enjoying the presence of Nora Armani at the Tekeyan Cultural Center. She performed the one-woman theatrical piece “Back on The Couch with Nora Armani” which she wrote.
Before I give you a synopsis about the theatrical piece and my humble impressions, coming from the medical field, I am not an art critic and do not pretend to be one, let me give you a short background about Mrs. Armani.
She was born in Cairo, Egypt from Armenian parents, after her school years Nora continued her education, a BA in Sociology and English drama from the American University Cairo, a Master’s degree in Sociology from The London school of Economics, University of London, and a Master’s degree in theatre and film from Hunter’s College CUNY. She then continued her training in acting and directing in well known workshops, I can go on and on. Being multilingual and fluent in at least four languages, Nora Armani has performed on stage, appeared in many movies and TV around the world. She is well versed in a multitude of art fields, and her achievements speak for themselves.
In 2003 Nora Armani gave a similar theatrical piece at Vanier College Montreal called “On the Couch with Nora Armani” which I remember fondly as I was involved in its arrangements at that time.
After 19 years she jumped back on the couch and took us on another nostalgic trip for almost an hour and a half nonstop. The contrast of the pink couch and three empty frames on the wall against the bare backdrop made the auditorium come alive. The stage was set for Nora’s journey to begin. Her performance was magical and captivated the audience. It took us through a time travel of her life’s journey by recounting the stories of her grandparents, parents, and her own.
The show starts with Nora Armani talking about her identity, her ethnicity and immigrating to a new country. She made us feel the pressures and difficulties of blending in a new country and society. She then strolled down the memory lane of her childhood and youth, and having to say goodbye to her country of birth, leaving behind family and friends.
The memories of the stories her grandparents told her about their hardships post WW1, being deported by the Ottoman army, were extremely touching. She brought tears to the eyes of some members in the audience who remembered their own family stories. The tales she told of growing up as a teenager in Egypt during those difficult political times made the audience laugh and ponder as they remembered their own youthful escapades. Talking about all those Armenian matchmaking traditions was funny, yet very true. Later on, we follow Nora when she immigrates to the Western world where she becomes a successful actress, writer and director.
It was a very successful evening. After the show Nora Armani mingled with the audience who asked her questions and most probably shared some stories about their experiences.
Driving back home, I suddenly realized that I was thinking about my grandparents, parents and my memories growing up in Egypt and of the day that I left Egypt for good. Thank you, Nora Armani!
LEVON KETCHIAN MD
