ALGERIAN ARTIST ANOUAR RAHMANI (LEFT) AND UKRAINIAN ARTIST OLENA BORYSHPOLETS PERFORM ‘SORRY, I DON’T UNDERSTANDING’ AT CITY OF ASYLUM. | PHOTOS COURTESY CITY OF ASYLUM

Two writers who became roommates seeking sanctuary at the City of Asylum’s Comma House have collaborated to create “Sorry, I Don’t Understanding,” an original, multilingual play that explores ways to communicate and connect without language. 

Performed in Navajo, French, Ukrainian and English, the play stars Ukrainian artist Olena Boryshpolets and Algerian artist Anouar Rahmani and takes inspiration from their story of learning to understand each other. “This multilingual aspect is the core idea of the play,” says Rahmani. 

Since 2004, the City of Asylum has offered short and long-term living for persecuted writers through its Exiled Writer and Artist Residency Program so writers can continue to add to culture and literature through their work. One of City of Asylum’s residences on the North Side, Alphabet City, will host a free world premiere of the play at 7 p.m. Monday, March 25 — available in person or streamed online.

“Most of what we do here is much more straightforward, like a reading or book launch or bringing in external artists who have their own thing,” says Alexis Jabour, senior production manager at City of Asylum. “This is a unique program for us.” 

“We’re happy that we’re adding some additional value to its history as the first time two writers from City of Asylum have worked together on a play,” Rahmani says. 

Rahmani, the first person to demand the legalization of same-sex marriage in Algeria, was already living in the Comma House when Boryshpolets moved in. She fled Ukraine when Russia invaded in 2022 and lived in Poland for a year.

Another artist at City of Asylum, Oleksandr Frazé-Frazénko, translated from Ukrainian for Boryshpolets in an interview, “You can imagine my stress when I needed to move to a new country again and start learning a new language that I didn’t know before.”

“She was barely saying ‘hi’ or ‘good morning’. That’s all our interactions were and she was really sad and angry,” Rahmani says. “I was also like that when I arrived, so I got to see myself in her.” 

Step by step, the two started to understand each other without words. While their story makes its way into the play, it’s not just the writers and their experiences. The title of the play refers to the stressful process of moving to another country and how trying to connect with a new world comes with complex lessons that aren’t so easily understood. “This is why we actually chose the title to be a little bit confusing,” Rahmani says. 

The show will also feature Frazé-Frazénko and The Happy Lovers band for one of its scenes, playing a traditional Ukrainian song that Frazé-Frazénko says “reflects the twist in the play perfectly.” 

The night will end with a Q&A session, where the artists are hoping for the most engagement. They expect the audience to be both passive and active “through questions in their mind that we’re trying to encourage them to ask,” Rahmani says.

“This is very important because art should not answer questions,” Boryhspolets said through Frazé-Frazénko as interpreter. 

Jabour says the stage will be surrounded by the audience, making room for about 100 people. Free tickets can be reserved in advance, and the show can also be viewed online via livestream.