“As it turns out, art (or theater) can change the world. It just takes people to start the conversations. Gwydion Suilebhan’s world premiere play is proof of that.” — Chris Silk, Naples Daily News
“‘The Butcher’ is like nothing else I’ve seen… It’s entertaining and smart, sure, but it also has the potential to change the way we think about religion and the seemingly insurmountable cultural divide. And it attempts to inject some humanity in the ‘us versus them’ mentality between Christians and Muslims, believers and non-believers.” — Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press
“[A] play that is so good, I suspect it will be picked up by every major regional theater company in the country… [T]he discussions on the way home and late into the week following will say a lot about you and how much you love real theater.” — Sidney B. Simon, Sanibel-Captiva Islander
Synopsis
In 2006, the butcher and sole proprietor of the Super Halal Meat Market in suburban Springfield, VA ducked into the walk-in freezer to fetch some goat meat for a customer. When he returned moments later, the customer’s severed left hand lay on the floor by the meat saw, and a trail of blood led all the way out of the store. Witnesses said the customer had used the saw to cut off his own hand, proclaiming again and again that he was “not a terrorist.” He had done it, he professed calmly, “for Allah.” But what exactly had he done? And why? In the ensuing weeks, the butcher, his wife, a reporter, and one innocent family try to make sense of this ultimately bewildering (and all too true) event.
Learn More
You can learn more about The Butcher on the New Play Exchange.