ARLINGTON, Mass. — Yearning for their homeland lost to the Soviet takeover of the Republic of Armenia on November 29, 1920, drove close to a 100,000 Armenians scattered throughout the world, mainly from the Middle East and Europe, to respond to the call of Soviet Armenian authorities in 1946, to repatriate their ancestral homeland. This historic scheme, launched about 80 years ago (1946-1949) known as the Great Repatriation (Mets Hayrenadardzut’iun) or simply nergaght (in-migration) proved to be a major disappointment and disillusionment resulting in demoralized masses, broken families, devastation and loss of innocent lives.
On Sunday, April 28, at 4 p.m., the Armenian Cultural Foundation will present “Mercedes and Zaruhi,” a solo play by Nora Armani, based on a story written by playwright Anush Aslibekyan. Based on true events, “Mercedes and Zaruhi” is the story of two Armenian sisters from Greece, whose decisions — Mercedes’ to stay in Greece and Zaruhi’s to repatriate to her beloved Armenia — shaped their destinies.
The program is co-sponsored by the Tekeyan Cultural Association, the Armenian International Women’s Association and the Armenian Women’s Welfare Association.
Mercedes and Zaruhi explores the theme of repatriation to Soviet Armenia from the late 1940s to the early 1990s through a series of letters exchanged between two sisters. Mercedes’ letters are shared through voiceover in Armenian, although she never appears on stage. The play highlights the social, political and cultural distance and differences separating the two siblings as well as heartbreaking and disillusionment, which proved not to be unique to Zaruhi, but tens and thousands of repatriates.
Aslibekyan first created the story in 2012 and before turning it into a full play and subsequently a monologue. Originally, a full multi-actor play was presented in Armenia by Nora Armani, in the Armenian original. Subsequently, the English language translation was provided by Nora Armani. “This is a wonderful opportunity to bring the work of Anush Aslibekyan to an English-speaking audience,” Armani stated. “My work entailed translating the solo play and adapting it by adding some material, to make it clearer to a non-initiated, non-Armenian audience.” Armani also recorded her own voice in Western Armenian in the recorded segments meant to be Mercedes.
Reflecting on the play, Marvin Carlson, Distinguished Professor of Theatre and Performance at the City University of New York praised Armani’s performance and the monodrama as “… [Nora Armani] tells a great story–suspenseful, warm, human, and funny, with great characters, and [her] depiction of the slowly aging protagonist was deeply moving; especially the final scene. A memorable evening in the theatre.”
