Mahida's Extra Key To Heaven

“A shaky romantic connection is made between an alienated American painter and an Iranian student in this sensitive and surprising drama.”

Jason Zinoman, The New York Times

   “…Conflicts between mother and son, brother and sister, Christian versus Middle East pair off for preliminaries before piling up in a noisy climax…a fascinating blend of tense drama, inspired comedy and a sweet, innocent and chaste romance, softened further by surprisingly effective moments of still and silence …”

William Westhoven, Daily Record

   “…seriously consider an excursion to see Russell Davis’ MAHIDA’S EXTRA KEY TO HEAVEN.

   The premise of the play centers on two young people who meet by chance in the evening at a ferry landing, waiting for a boat that will not come until morning. One of them starts talking. Thomas’s irrepressible, impossible loquacity sparks a dialogue that draws Mahida, an Iranian student, into a confidence first, and then to a dramatic confrontation with her brother in the second act. Although much of the conversation in MAHIDA’S EXTRA KEY TO HEAVEN is about cultural differences, the real subject of the play is not these disagreements. It is about talking itself—how we talk to one another or fail to talk, and what happens when talking breaks down.…

   At the heart of MAHIDA’S EXTRA KEY TO HEAVEN is a parable Mahida is trying to write about two very different creatures, one without a shadow and the other without a reflection, who find in each other a traveling companion. In the story, as in the play, Mahida and Thomas do not quite become partners, but their heaven is just the other side of the wall, where the water is wide and calm.…”

Jim Kates, The Arts Fuse

   “It’s easy enough to think of people from different cultures as if they’re from literally different worlds altogether, but the simple—and perhaps hardest—thing to remember at times is that we are all occupying the same planet. It’s a planet that may seem vast and broken, but a planet of our own all the same. To Mahida and Thomas…the leads in Russell Davis’ perfectly charming MAHIDA’S EXTRA KEY TO HEAVEN, this isn’t such a hard thing to remember. Yes, they start out as two perfect strangers in this imperfect world, but through conversation and shared passions they find a way to understand each other despite the bridges they have to cross to get there.

   Just the right blend of philosophical and comical, MAHIDA’S EXTRA KEY TO HEAVEN pairs two unlikely strangers from two different backgrounds together in an elegant and charming plot.…”

Cheyenne Heinselman, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript