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Have you ever had a voice lodged in your memory that won’t go away? Clawing at your skin, bones, and nerves until it’s all you can think about? For Homa, an Iranian refugee living in Canada with her son Pendar, this is her daily torment. Haunted by the trauma of torture under the oppressive Islamic regime, Homa channels her pain into activism as an outspoken podcaster, fiercely condemning the human-rights violations in Iran. But her freedom is tested when she discovers that the father of Pendar’s new girlfriend is a devout Islamist and requests she wear a hijab in his presence. As the voices in her mind grow louder, Homa fears the nightmares from her past have followed her right to her doorstep.
In Earworm, provocateur Mohammad Yaghoubi delivers a brilliant thriller that interrogates the fragile promises of political asylum and resonates not just with Iranian immigrants, but with all who have fled persecution in their homeland only to encounter their oppressors once again in their new country. Created in solidarity with the 2022 international Woman, Life, Freedom demonstrations that originated in Iran, this confrontational, clever, and suspenseful drama burrows deep under your skin and lingers long after its shocking conclusion.
Cast size: 4 actors
Male roles: 2
Female roles: 2
“Earworm is beautifully nuanced. Yaghoubi manages to send a political message about taking power away from the Islamic regime while telling a compelling story of parenting, immigration, trauma and love.”
- Andrea Perez, NEXT Magazine
“Earworm is as gorgeous as it is thought-provoking . . . Mohammad Yaghoubi’s Earworm scrapes at the edges of the idiom, making for a sinister, gorgeously conceived exploration of abuse and femicide in post-revolution Iran.”
- Aisling Murphy, Intermission Magazine
“Yaghoubi is an authentic Brechtian, confidently employing meta-theatrical devices, not as a stylish gimmick, but in a way that feels purposeful, urgent and galvanizing.”
- Istvan Dugalin, Istvan Reviews
“This hair-raising piece of political theatre . . . illuminates that Canada isn’t much of a refuge any more for many who have come here to escape persecution and repression.”
- J. Kelly Nestruck, The Globe and Mail