Love with Leila

CBC:

Company: Unveiled Productions

Genre: Play Comedy

Venue:2 MTC Up the Alley

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Poor Leila (played by writer/performer Izad Etemadi) just wants to find love, like most of us. Unlike most of us, bearded Leila is considered the homeliest woman in Iran.

What unfolds as Leila falls for a handsome doctor is standard romcom fare, from an awkwardly gassy first date to the wait for the follow-up text to the rearing up of jealousy.

But that normalcy is surely part of the point here, as Etemadi shows that a young Iranian woman's search for love is no different than anyone else's.

It's not much of a revelation, nor is the "love yourself" conclusion. And the show can sometimes get screechy (especially as Etemadi takes on the role of Leila's mother). But there's fun to be had with Etemadi's boisterous, campy portrayal of the vivacious, stereotype-smashing Leila.

I didn't quite fall in love, but I did like Leila.

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