Award-winning performer/playwright Valerie David’s internationally celebrated solo show, Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming My Father’s Daughter, is a gripping exploration of immigration, generational trauma, identity, and family. It recounts Valerie’s discovery of her family’s harrowing escape from Iraq during the 1941 Farhud pogrom in Baghdad—a two-day spree of anti-Jewish violence.

Her autobiographical play illustrates how this painful legacy shaped Valerie’s own life and her evolving relationship with her father, uncovering a story of survival, identity, and ultimately, reconciliation. Love and the importance of family triumph.

Baggage From BaghDAD is not just a Jewish tale, but a relatable narrative about having to emigrate to another country, being forced to evacuate during wartime, suffering bullying, and the ramifications of having to adapt to a foreign culture that’s not so welcoming. This play mirrors today’s rise of prejudice and discrimination worldwide, finding humor and hope, even in the darkest of times—with a universal message of inspiration and resilience. Directed by Karen Carpenter.

Accolades include:
• Received The Spoken Word and Theatre Award—2022 Stockholm Fringe Festival
• Nominated for the Grand Prix Award—2022 Stockholm Fringe Festival • Winner-Best Play by the 2022 Sweden Broadway World Regional Awards
• Semi-finalist for the 2021 Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award
• Awarded the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council 2024 Grant of NYC

This is Valerie's second time at the Scranton Fringe Festival and thanks this festival. Valerie previously brought her award-winning, internationally acclaimed solo show, The Pink Hulk: One Woman’s Journey to Find the Superhero Within, to the fringe—her inspiring journey to become a 3-time cancer survivor.

Baggage From BaghDAD’s Sound and Projections Design by Andy Evan Cohen

Links:

To learn more about this show, please click here

Or click here to learn more about The Pink Hulk!