{"id":115335,"date":"2025-06-19T13:46:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T17:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=115335"},"modified":"2025-06-19T14:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T18:00:02","slug":"interview-toronto-fringe-2025-maryem-tollar-roula-said-talk-shady-arab-ladies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/06\/19\/interview-toronto-fringe-2025-maryem-tollar-roula-said-talk-shady-arab-ladies\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Toronto Fringe 2025: Maryem Tollar & Roula Said Talk About Very Shady Arab Ladies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Actors
L: Maryem Tollar; R: Roula Said as Very Shady Arab Ladies, premiering at Toronto Fringe (Photo: Cathy Ord)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s Mama\u2019s birthday, but\u2026 Maryem and Roula are in jail. On top of that, they\u2019re shawarma restaurant is under siege by a ruthless businessman named Narendra… who\u2019s also their uncle.<\/p>\n

Are they criminals, or angels in disguise (albeit a very good disguise)?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s satire and song for an apocalyptic age, as the material describes it, tackling cultural stereotypes that have a particular resonance in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n

Can comedy and music take on sensitive subjects? In the right hands, of course it can. That\u2019s the premise of Very Shady Arab Ladies, a comedy with music that\u2019s on stage starting on July 3 as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival.<\/p>\n

Maryem Tollar & Roula Said<\/h2>\n

Very Shady Arab Ladies is the brainchild of FAOC (Friggin Arab Orchestra Company), or Maryem Tollar and Roula Said.<\/p>\n

Egyptian-Canadian vocalist and actor Maryem Tollar<\/strong> is a multi-faceted artist known for not only her own work, but her collaborations with ensembles like Tafelmusik for the multimedia performance of Tales and Tales of Two Cities: The Leipzig-Damascus Coffee Houses and Safe Haven. She has collaborated with composer Christos Hatzis, performing his piece Syn-Phonia \u2014 Migration Patterns with The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Inuit throat singer Tiffany Ayalik, and his multimedia piece Constantinople with The Gryphon Trio and Patricia O\u2019Callaghan.<\/p>\n

She received the inaugural Johanna Metcalf Prize for Performing Arts in 2019.<\/p>\n

Viewers will recognize her voice from the theme of CBC\u2019s Little Mosque on the Prairie, and A.R. Rahman\u2019s Bollywood movie Mayya Mayya.<\/p>\n

Singer, dancer, musician, actor and poet Roula Said<\/strong> has become a leading figure in Arab music and dance in Canada over a career that spans 25 years. Roula, who is of Palestinian heritage, has also studied and explored multiple genres and styles of performance in dance and music.<\/p>\n

She has been nominated for a JUNO Award as a vocalist, and is a passionate educator as well as performer. She has been teaching Middle Eastern dance for three decades.<\/p>\n

As someone who\u2019s art interweaves poetry, movement, and music \u2014 which can serve as performance, but also as ceremony \u2014 she also works as an End of Life Doula, and officiates weddings.<\/p>\n

Dora-winning actor HRH Anand Rajaram<\/strong> adds to the cast as Narendra, the scheming business man,\/uncle and directs the comedy\/musical\/satire.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, both Said and Tollar also have a gift for comedy. The pair also has a track record under the name FAOC with the hit show Beige Christmas, which was also presented at Video Cabaret Theatre in December.<\/p>\n

\"L:
L: Maryem Tollar; R: Roula Said as Very Shady Arab Ladies, premiering at Toronto Fringe (Photo: Cathy Ord)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Interview<\/h3>\n

\u201cRoula and I have been doing short little video clips for this comedy duo we have,\u201d Maryem recalls. That was back during the pandemic. \u201cAt one point, we though it would be a good idea to do a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ideas kept developing, but in the meantime, the pair put together a holiday show.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was called Beige Christmas,\u201d Tollar says. \u201cI had no idea how this would go, because up to this point, we had just done video.\u201d It played at Video Cabaret for several shows in December 2024, and went over so well they\u2019re thinking of making Beige Christmas an annual event.<\/p>\n

With the show\u2019s success, and their connection with HRH Anand Rajaram, who became artistic director of Video Cabaret earlier this year, the idea of a live theatrical version of Ladies began to take shape.<\/p>\n

The comedy comes from the close relationship the two share.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur friendship just naturally goes there,\u201d Said adds. \u201cWe naturally go into these characters with accents.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says the characters they\u2019ve created are a kind of hodgepodge of aunties, grandmothers, and other familiar figures. \u201cIn this comical way that helps us process the world. During the pandemic, we found that our foolish commentary was cathartic to other people as well. We just kind of carried on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Very Shady Arab Ladies: The Story<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe story is that there is a family business called Shawarma King that our characters work at,\u201d Roula explains.<\/p>\n

The backstory is that the business had been called Shawarma Queen, but on the death of their father, who owned the business, his brother took over. Just as the two women are about to regain the business in their own names, he sells it to a friend, pulling the rug out from under their plans.<\/p>\n

It becomes the catalyst for the series of events, with a subplot that crosses paths with a group of revolutionaries who hang out in Toronto\u2019s underground tunnels.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then we do end up in jail,\u201d Said adds.<\/p>\n

As Maryem explains, the comedy came out of a reaction to events in the world, and at first, even attempting a show seemed out of place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were not feeling great about the world, and the situation in Palestine,\u201d Roula says. \u201cWhy would we do a show when all these terrible things are happening?\u201d<\/p>\n

But, the community of performance, and sharing their feelings, proved a better idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to come together,\u201d Tollar says, \u201cand feel bad \u2014 but also have some joy together in our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding the elements of joy became their goal. \u201cTo not ignore it, but find a way to just be together and find a way to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s kind of a clownish comedy,\u201d Roula says. \u201cIt also allows an engagement with darker energies that maybe it helps metabolize, as we are all dealing with a lot right now. It’s so insane.\u201d As she points out, it\u2019s using the lens of absurdity to look at a situation that begins with its own edge of absurdity. \u201cWe definitely have a context in our world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nature of the characters also allows them to incorporate that joy. \u201cAnd try to celebrate our Moms. And joy. \u201c<\/p>\n