In a first for the 71-year-old Sarah Siddons Society, it is pleased to produce a one-night performance of Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy, a new one-woman play written and performed by Almanya Narula, a 2016 Siddons Scholarship recipient. The one act play will enjoy its Chicago premiere on Monday, December 11, 2023 at 7 pm at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway in Chicago. The play is followed by a talkback with Narula. Tickets are available through the Sarah Siddons Society here ($18 members, $25 non-members, $10 students & theatre artists).
Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy made its off-Broadway debut at the United Solo Fest on Theatre Row to a full house in November 2023 taking home a “Best Actress” award and premiered at the 2022 Hollywood Fringe Festival to much acclaim and sold-out performances. It was also streamed internationally and received several accolades including
WINNER Best Actress (United Solo, Off-Broadway)
WINNER Soaring Solo Social Impact Award (Hollywood Fringe, LA)
WINNER The Best of Broadwater (Hollywood Fringe, LA)
NOMINEE Solo Performance (Hollywood Fringe, LA)
NOMINEE Black Box Live Digital Innovation Award (Hollywood Fringe, LA)
NOMINEE The Theatre Theater Playwright Award (Hollywood Fringe, LA)
NOMINEE The Will Greer’s Theatricum Botanicum Wordsmith Award (Hollywood Fringe, LA)
RUNNER-UP ‘Best One Person Show’ (LA Theatre Bite, LA)
Almanya Narula in a publicity image for Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy. Photo by Miguel Perez.
Born into an Indian family of Sufi royalty, Noor Inayat Khan is a British spy who fought the Nazis and played an integral role in the allied victory of World War II. In this "heroic and compelling" imagining of the last minutes of her life, Noor's decisions will forever change the tide of a war we thought we knew everything about. Now cornered by the Nazis, Noor must choose between her betraying her allies or sacrificing her life to save many. In this one act thrill ride, she will remind us who she is, why she matters and why she will always be a part of history. She fought alongside her colonizers, the British, to fight a greater threat – the evisceration of life as we know it.
The Nazis never forgot her name, and after tonight’s show, you won’t, either.
Noor Inayat Khan is one of over 1.2 million people of Indian descent who contributed to World War II but were left out of the history books. This show brings her story and sacrifice to the forefront.
Martin Balogh, President of the Sarah Siddons Society comments, “In keeping with our mission of supporting emerging theatre artists through scholarships and grants, this was a logical extension to provide support to a new work by one of our past scholarship recipients. We couldn’t be more excited to be part of it.”
Praise for Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy
“Extremely compelling. Almanya Narula is one of those actors who you can’t take your eyes off of… I felt very privileged to see it.” – Taylor Kass (Stage Raw, Los Angeles)
“Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy is a memorable, thoughtful piece of theatre about a woman who resisted peacefully, courageously and for a singular purpose.” – Dana Martin (Pearls Before Swine)
“This was one of the best one-person plays I had the opportunity to watch. Equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring. If you can snag a ticket… run, don’t walk” – Michael Reyes (Mike Check)
About Almanya Narula
Almanya Narula is an award winning Indian-Thai, actor, writer and fight choreographer. She started her career in the entertainment industry at a young age where she was a child actor in various Bollywood media. Previously, she was involved with the Chicago theatre industry collaborating on several award-winning productions and theatre companies. In 2019, she became the first woman of color to be nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award in Fight Choreography. Recent Chicago credits: POTUS (Steppenwolf), Teenage Dick, The Whistleblower (Theater Wit), Mosquitoes (Steep); Regional: Dial M for Murder (TheatreSquared); Off Broadway: Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy. Film: Pandaal, The Ushers; Music Video: Feed the Machine (Nickelback); Select Awards: Soaring Solo Social Impact Award, Best Solo Performance Nominee (Hollywood Fringe Festival). She holds a B.A. in Theater & Advanced Management (double majors) with Stage Combat & Voice Over (double minors) from Columbia College Chicago. An M.A. in New Arts Journalism from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is also a recent graduate of the Stella Adler: Art of Acting Professional Conservatory.
About Sarah Siddons Society
Since its inception, the mission of the Society has been to fund scholarships to promising theater arts students at top Chicago area universities including; The Theater Department, Columbia College; The Theatre School at DePaul University; Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and Northwestern University School of Communications. For additional information, visit sarahsiddonssociety.org.