Written and performed by Vahe Berberian.
A Wet Paint Production. Directed by Gor Kirakosian. Produced by Christina Shirinyan.
1 hour, 30 minutes. In Armenian.
With Sagayn, Berberian has pushed the envelope by finding absurdity and great humor in not just the Armenian, but the human condition in general. With his unique spin on everyday topics such as weddings, religion, Armenian characteristics and everything in between, Berberian will keep you laughing long after the show is over.
The DVD includes extra features, with footage of Vahe in Aleppo, Beirut and Yerevan.
‘Sagayn’ Serves Up Satire
Asbarez
By Aram Kouyoumdjian
Jul 10th, 2009
The past 18 months have been, for Vahe Berberian, a period of remarkable theatrical activity. Last year, his feature play “Baron Garbis” played to sold-out audiences. Earlier this year, his collaboration with his Arvest Gang cohorts resulted in “Out of the Cage,” a sketch comedy show of the so-funny-it-hurts variety. Now, Berberian ends a hiatus from his one-man performances by premiering a brand-new Armenian-language monologue entitled “Sagayn” (However), which is packing full houses at Brandview Collection in Glendale on Thursdays (through August 13).
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Chairman of the funny bones
Vahe Berberian and the art of making you get over yourself
Armenian Reporter
Ishkhan Jinbashian
June 26, 2009
Here’s a rule of thumb: comedy thrives on misery. The more errant, lost, down on its luck, or for any reason suffering from collective hallucination a society is, the better it is for comedy. But comedy does more than simply profit from adversity; it can, if plied in the right hands and hurling its arrows in the right direction, help us overcome – even transcend – misfortune.
Comedy is also all about people power. Say you find yourself living in times of utter senselessness and absurdity (the Stalin era, the Bush years); or you happen to be in an environment where values are no longer defined by things like intellect, civic engagement, and altruism, but rather the relative size of one’s bank account (the Armenian diaspora comes to mind, but especially a wondrous spot I like to call Nagorno Glendale). And say, in situations such as these, time-honored agents of change such as unhindered public debate are either nonexistent, out of torque, or banned outright. Then comedy takes over – or should. Comedy is just about the cheapest, and surest, way to mount a revolution, and do it where it counts most: in people’s hearts and minds.
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