Zarqa Nawaz in her play Mosque Heist, running at the Globe Theatre in Regina until Oct. 18.Chris Graham/Supplied
In the late 2000s, Little Mosque on the Prairie embodied the best of Canadian multiculturalism. Zarqa Nawaz’s CBC sitcom, set in a fictional small town in Saskatchewan, examined head-on how different cultures co-exist in this country. Much of the show was inspired by Nawaz’s own coming-of-age as a Muslim woman in Canada: Though born in Liverpool, she was raised in Toronto before relocating with her family to Regina, where she lives now.
Though Little Mosque on the Prairie aired its finale in 2012, Nawaz has continued to shine a light on Canada’s Muslim communities across a number of mediums, including memoir and stand-up comedy. (She is also a contributor to JOBFlocks.)
This month, Nawaz embarks on yet another new kind of storytelling: theatre. Her first play, Mosque Heist, follows Kareema, a caterer forced to come up with a vast sum of money in order to save her husband from a vicious loan shark. With seemingly no other choices to secure the funds, she does the unthinkable – and on the holiest night of Ramadan, no less.
JOBFlocks spoke with Nawaz to discuss writing and starring in Mosque Heist, running at the Globe Theatre in Regina until Oct. 18.
Nawaz, Sam Khalilieh and Eman Ayaz in Mosque Heist. The play follows Kareema, a caterer forced to come up with a vast sum of money in order to save her husband from a vicious loan shark.Chris Graham/Supplied
Performing in the round, with audiences on all sides, seems like a huge leap for you in your first play. How has that been?
I’ve never done theatre before. The other actors tell me it’s more challenging because we have to memorize the choreography of the movement as well as our lines. You can’t have your back to any section of the theatre for too long, and you have to sort of project your voice upward.
It’s so exhausting. But it’s so much fun, too.
Why did you feel this was a story for theatre? Why not write another sitcom or web series?
I originally wrote it for television, and then those plans fell apart. But I was like, ‘This is just too good of a story to let it go.’ So I called Jennifer Brewin, artistic director of the Globe Theatre, and she said yes. I compressed it into a 90-minute play, and it solved some of the story problems I was having with it as a television series. I submitted it to her in January, and three days later she said they were putting it on in September. We’ve been going non-stop since January.
Greg Ochitwa in Mosque Heist. The play is set on Laylat al-Qadr, the single most important night in Islam for Muslims.Chris Graham/Supplied
What’s been the biggest learning curve on the move from screen to stage?
Everything is so fast. I get feedback immediately about the lines that work or don’t work. I’ve never had that before. In television, you’ll make something, and then six months later you’re like, ‘Oh, wait, that wasn’t funny.’ In theatre, you can adjust on the spot. That’s been revolutionary for me.
Also – film and television is just so expensive. You have maybe five or 10 minutes to rehearse, and then you just have to do it. With this, we’ve been able to work on it for a month. That’s such a luxury.
What’s the significance of setting a heist story during Ramadan?
This is Laylat al-Qadr, the single most important night in Islam for Muslims. The idea that you would steal from a mosque on this particular night raises the stakes to such a high degree. We had to make sure that Muslims in the audience could recognize that we’re aware of the sacredness of this night.
For Muslims, you could do nothing worse than steal on this particular day. This is the day we pray all night – but it’s also the day the mosques tend to have their best fundraising. That juxtaposition is what makes this piece so zany and wild.
From left to right: Chirag Naik, Ayaz, Nawaz and Nimet Kanji in Mosque Heist.Chris Graham/Supplied
Mosque Heist seems to continue the conversation about Muslims in Canada you started with Little Mosque on the Prairie. Close to two decades after its premiere, how are you still feeling the impact of that show?
When that show first came out, there was a very strong, negative reaction from the Muslim community. That shocked me to the core. I thought they’d be so happy that we finally had some Western representation. But I hadn’t anticipated we’d be the first ever – and if you’re going to be the first one out of the gate, then there’s going to be a lot of apprehension and suspicion and misunderstanding. I think people thought I was making fun of Islam, or that somehow I was going to turn non-Muslims against us.
My husband was the president of our mosque at the time. He had to recuse himself from meetings, because there were petitions about having me removed as a member. I remember eventually having to withdraw my membership from the mosque and not being able to go.
But then that apprehension died down. When I wrote this play, it hadn’t quite occurred to me that I was making a comedy about the most sacred day in Islam. A few friends expressed trepidation, and I remember feeling just a little bit worried about going through that again.
Then I asked the imam and the heads of the Muslim community in Regina if they’d like to come to the play, and they said yes. They actually put the poster of the play on the mosque’s listserv. I feel like I have more freedom artistically now. I can make those choices and not worry in the ways I had to before.
This interview has been edited and condensed.