Zabel in Exile.  By R.N. Sandberg.  Directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian.  Sponsored by Judith Saryan and Victor Zarougian.  Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, through March 8.

By Michele Markarian

For this audience member of Armenian heritage, Zabel in Exile is a cultural expedition into the Armenian psyche. The favoritism and privilege of boys and men. The devastation and tragedy of the death marches. The mystical visions of Death, dressed in garments of scarlet and black. My great-grandfather saw such a vision riding towards him on horseback and told his family it was coming for him. He was right; he died the next day along with his wife and three of his children.   My thirteen-year-old grandmother escaped. Zabel is a memory play based on the life of Armenian writer Zabel Yessayan. She’s a very compelling character, and her life, though hard and full of peril, embodies the bravery and compassion of the Armenian spirit.

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