Victim Impact [2018]
Imagine that you, your parents or grandparents, who have worked a lifetime to save for retirement and buy a home, suddenly lose it all.
A trusted friend or family member or someone in your religious community had talked you into investing your life savings.
But it was all a lie.
Former notary public Rashida Samji drew family, friends and community members into a vast web of deceit between 2003 and 2012. She pleaded guilty on fraud charges and was sentenced to six years in a federal penitentiary, while Arvin Patel, a financial planner who brought 90 clients to Samji, was found guilty of securities violations and handed a suspended sentence.
Over two hundred people in BC were ripped off in a Ponzi scheme of over $110 million. Most of the victims are retirees and a high proportion are members of the Surrey South Asian community.
Theatre Conspiracy’s new documentary show Victim Impact looks at the fallout for those affected as they got sucked into the vortex of civil and criminal trials.
Conspiracy AD Tim Carlson leads the project in association with PTC’s Kathleen Flaherty, visuals designer Milton Lim and sound designer David Mesiha who all worked together on the hit show Foreign Radical.
Writer: Tim Carlson
Dramaturg: Kathleen Flaherty
Director: Jiv Parasram
Cast: Jenn Griffin*, Nimet Kanji*, Risha Nanda*, Allan Morgan*, Munish Sharma*
Assistant Director: Gavan Cheema
Associate Producer/Production Manager: Jack Paterson
Visuals & Digital Media Designer: Milton Lim
Original Music & Sound Design: David Mesiha
Lighting Designer: Conor Moore
Set Designer: Joel Grinke
Costume Designer: Florence May Barrett
Associate Costume Design: Maureen O'Kiely
Technical Director: Daniel O'Shea
Stage Manager: Yvonne Yip*
Outreach: Gavan Cheema and Rohit Chokhani
The show premiered at The Cultch in Vancouver June 8-17, 2018.
TALKBACKS:
Advancing Form in Docu-theatre (20 minutes)
Playwright Tim Carlson, Director Jiv Parasram and the Conspiracy team in a Q&A on the making of Victim Impact and the process of documentary theatre.
Financial Fraud and Its Impact (20 minutes)
Special insights in the Samji case and financial fraud with a panel featuring an inspector in the case and legal counsel for Society of Notaries Public of BC, Ron Usher.
* The participation of these Artists are arranged by permission of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the provisions of the Dance Opera Theatre Policy.
“funny, tense and spectacular” – Merely Players
“...their dedication to theatricality and storytelling is what makes this production so riveting.” –Lillian Jasper, My Two Cents
“Carlson’s script makes it painfully clear how, arguably, various institutions, banks, and legal systems not only failed to protect Samji’s victims, but actually inflicted further damage after the fact.” – Andrea Warner, Georgia Straight
Presentations:
The Cultch Historic Theatre | Vancouver, Canada – June 8-17, 2018