The Invisible Hand

Mr. Akhtar s play . . . makes a forceful point about the seemingly ineradicable terrorism roiling the Middle East. Inspired though it may be by religious ideology, it is necessarily fueled, like most other movements that drive cultural change, by the brute power of money
- New York Times on "The Invisible Hand"

Somebody give this playwright a Pulitzer. Oh, right Ayad Akhtar already has one, for a previous play, Disgraced . . . Although this new continues the scribe s interest in the clashing ideologies of Americans and Muslims, The Invisible Hand is far more politically provocative
- Variety on "The Invisible Hand"

The Invisible Hand has layers of delicious irony
>- Guardian

Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer prizewinner adds an extra dimension to the subject [of American liberal guilt] by exposing the dangers of denying one's racial and religious inheritance ... a tough, compelling play that covers a lot of ground in 90 minutes ... Akhtar ... plots his hero's downfall with a remorseless logic and shows, with ironic cunning, how a liberal action in the cause of justice leads to Amir's undoing.
- Guardian on "Disgraced"

There's an unnerving frisson of electricity running through this new American play by New Yorker Ayad Akhtar ... a cut above the norm in its nimble wit, toughness and pressing 'now-ness' ... Above all, it shows how the intellectual fall-out from 9/11 is still radioactive among the professional classes ... the cleverness of the play lies in its recognisable roots in everyday sounding off ... at the same time, there s a thread of anxiety about origins, assimilation and cultural colonisation.
- Independent on "Disgraced"

Personal frictions lust, envy, a hotly contested promotion combine with increasingly acrimonious discussions about faith, culture and assimilation to shake the characters carefully composed sense of identity ... the candour and passion of the exchanges are breathtaking as Akhtar engages head-on with the most incendiary and fractious issues of our time. Wisely, he offers no easy solutions, but the play twists and turns through contradictory impulses of understanding and antipathy. --- Financial Times on "Disgraced"

Ayad Akhtar is the author of American Dervish, published in 25 languages worldwide and a 2012 Best Book of the Year at Kirkus Reviews, Toronto's Globe and Mail, Shelf-Awareness, and O (Oprah) Magazine. He is also a playwright and screenwriter. His stage play Disgraced played at the American Theater Company, Chicago, and New York's Lincoln Center Theater in 2012. It won the Jeff Equity Award for Best New Play in 2012, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 2013, and opened in London at the Bush Theatre in 2013. As a screenwriter, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for The War Within. He has received commissions from Lincoln Center and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He is a graduate of Brown and Columbia Universities with degrees in Theater and Film Directing.