Heartland

by Gabriel Jason Dean

In 1984, USAID and the CIA commissioned the University of Nebraska's Center for Afghanistan Studies to create textbooks for Afghan schoolchildren. The textbooks are filled with violent images and militant Islamic teachings -- talk of jihad and drawings of guns, bullets, soldiers, and mines – subtle, coercive propaganda meant to stimulate resistance against the U.S.S.R. HEARTLAND, commissioned by Interact...

In 1984, USAID and the CIA commissioned the University of Nebraska's Center for Afghanistan Studies to create textbooks for Afghan schoolchildren. The textbooks are filled with violent images and militant Islamic teachings -- talk of jihad and drawings of guns, bullets, soldiers, and mines – subtle, coercive propaganda meant to stimulate resistance against the U.S.S.R. HEARTLAND, commissioned by Interact Theatre, is inspired by these true events. In the play, Dr. Harold Banks is a renowned professor of Central Asian Literature at the University of Nebraska. When an Afghan refugee named Nazrullah suddenly arrives at his doorstep claiming to know his adopted daughter, Getee– an Afghan-American foreign aid worker who was killed in a Taliban attack–the two men spend the next few months as unlikely roommates. Heartland unfolds as an emotional journey through love and loss, an examination of culpability and, ultimately, a meditation on mercy.

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Heartland

Recommended by

  • Nick Malakhow: Heartland

    A wonderful and nuanced piece that is so full of surprising revelation, tension, and character evolution, but all of this is done with incredibly deft brushstrokes and a light hand. Gabriel Jason Dean both illuminates a complex historical truth that asks questions of culpability and incitement of violence, while also telling a story of forgiveness, family, and identity. I'd love to see this intimate piece onstage, as it so wisely uses bold theatrical devices to heighten the storytelling.

    A wonderful and nuanced piece that is so full of surprising revelation, tension, and character evolution, but all of this is done with incredibly deft brushstrokes and a light hand. Gabriel Jason Dean both illuminates a complex historical truth that asks questions of culpability and incitement of violence, while also telling a story of forgiveness, family, and identity. I'd love to see this intimate piece onstage, as it so wisely uses bold theatrical devices to heighten the storytelling.

  • Cheryl Bear: Heartland

    A powerful play that rips you open and teaches you a history you never knew. A story of forgiveness, understanding and love. Great work.

    A powerful play that rips you open and teaches you a history you never knew. A story of forgiveness, understanding and love. Great work.

  • Alana Corrigan: Heartland

    This is a masterful, heart wrenching piece that manages to create a narrative that challenges, amuses, and quietly guides the audience within one act and three characters.

    This is a masterful, heart wrenching piece that manages to create a narrative that challenges, amuses, and quietly guides the audience within one act and three characters.

View all 11 recommendations

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Langham Court Theatre - BC, Canada, Year 2020
  • Type Reading, Organization The Hub - Washington, DC, Year 2019
  • Type Reading, Organization Muhlenberg College, Year 2016
  • Type Workshop, Organization The Playwrights' Center, Year 2016
  • Type Reading, Organization PlayPenn, Year 2016
  • Type Reading, Organization New York Theatre Workshop, Year 2016
  • Type Reading, Organization Lark New Play Development Center , Year 2015

Production History

Awards