Trista Baldwin's "Eye of the Lamb" may be set in the 1920s, but the issues it throws into sharp relief have a "ripped from the headlines" feel. Questions of statehood, self-determination and colonialism in the Middle East remain as current as they were a century ago.
The play revolves around Gertrude Bell, an Englishwoman who defied convention to embark on a career as traveler, writer, scholar and political power broker intimately involved in shaping the modern Iraqi state. Annie Enneking imbues this role with sizzling enthusiasm, ably communicating the passionate curiosity that spurred Bell. At the same time, she conveys with precision over the course of 90 minutes a woman beginning to crumble beneath the weight of what she has wrought.
Pearce Bunting provides bitingly satiric work as a couple of pompous bastions of British colonialism, while Taous Khazem and Munikantha Kulasinghe lend strong presences in several roles, including Bell's maid and the first king of Iraq.
This thought-provoking piece explores not just the tangled origins of modern Iraq, but also the Western world's romanticized view of a foreign culture. An onstage Baghdad Café Band provides "oriental" entertainment, such as Irving Berlin's "Tonight I'm Dreaming of Araby," interspersed with comical allusions to Hollywood sheikhs and the mysteries of harems.
The few kinks that remain to be worked out here, including some overly busy blocking by director Jeremy Wilhelm, don't detract from the intriguing, thoughtful quality of this ambitious exploration.
(8 p.m. Thu.-Fri., 3 & 8 p.m. Sat. $18-$25 or pay what you can. Playwrights' Center, 2301 E. Franklin Av., Mpls. brownpapertickets.com)
Lisa Brock is a Minneapolis writer.
