Fortune

Frenzy

Fanaa

In his seminal work “Masnavi”, Rumi’s didactic stories follow a similar path: problem, complication, and resolution. So too do the stories we hear in The Caged Bird Sings by Rouvan Silogix, Rafeh Mahmud, and Ahad Lakhani. Directed by Mahmud, The Caged Bird Sings remains a transcendent and thought-provoking experience, with certain elements of the script having a totally different effect on me a mere two years after my first encounter with the production.

Sal has been trapped in this cage for a thousand years, you’d never know it by looking at him, but that’s what he tells his new cell-mates Rumi and Jin when they suddenly arrive. In this cage, there is no sunlight, no one comes or goes, it is merely you and whatever your imagination cooks up. The trio begin to pass the time by telling stories: of their old lives, of what they think got them here, of their loves and losses. Tensions run high as the confined quarters of their imprisonment begin to take their toll, but what will the truth actually reveal about these prisoners?

The Caged Bird Sings uses a similar form as “Masnavi” by telling short stories which bit by bit add to the overarching storyline of the three prisoners. The titles of these vignettes are witty plays on classic works of literature, and are always repeated by all three performers before the story is told. With this structure, the audience is given bits of information at a time, leaving us space to ponder one anecdote while we witness another, until the full picture finally comes into view. The “Fanaa” section is especially good at this, where every piece is highly allegorical, and yet the messages within them are clearly directly related to the stories we’ve previously been told. Even seeing it a second time, there were elements to the story which I had forgotten, which shocked and surprised me all over again. It’s part of the reason why I enjoy getting to see plays more than once; though the text hasn’t changed, I have, and to get to witness such a profound story multiple times is a cherished opportunity.

Part of the anticipation of getting to see The Caged Bird Sings again was to see how Waleed Ansari’s set would be transformed for an indoor setting. This was done beautifully, taking the beds and carpeted flooring from the previous production, and capping it with a beautiful mandala-style wooden roof. The characters never leave the enclosed space implied by the raised platform, reinforcing their captivity. Much of the storytelling then comes down to Arun Srinivasan’s lighting design, as it helps us understand when the stories have changed and which ones are memory versus what’s happening in the now. I particularly enjoyed the three hanging lightbulbs, which would individually illuminate as the characters repeated each title; the synchronicity of the spoken words to the lights have a chilling, ethereal effect.

Rouvan Silogix, Mikaela Lily Davies, and Navtej Sandhu reprise their roles as Sal, Rumi, and Jin. Silogix’s Sal acts as both the comedic relief and instigator within the story, and Silogix deftly plays this role. Davies is a fierce force on stage as Rumi; watching the tears streaming down her face during the performance nearly had me crying along with her. Sandhu is certainly a performer whose name I now look out for. With an undeniable stage presence and expressive delivery, she rounds out this cast perfectly.

Rumi’s final monologue of the play deeply resonated with me. She professes her humanity, and how she is refusing to let her past mistakes define her, a trap so many of us fall into. Lately, I’ve been struggling with how our missteps, be they large or small, can haunt us long after we believe atonement has been made. Yet Rumi reminds us that we are more than these faults, we are infinitely more, and it felt like that moment of annihilation of the self, of fanaa, released us both. The Caged Bird Sings is both ancient and modern, grounded and spiritual, in a way not often found in other pieces of theatre. Take a journey into the cage, you might be surprised by who you’ll find.

The Caged Bird Sings runs in the Tarragon Theatre Extraspace until June 21. For more information and tickets, visit: https://tarragontheatre.com/plays/2025-2026/the-caged-bird-sings/

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Cover Photo: Rouvan Silogix, Navtej Sandhu, and Mikaela Lily Davies. Photo by Jae Yang.

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