Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for “The Ghazzali Dossier.”
“The Ghazzali Dossier,” written and directed by Tufts junior Mishaal Hussain, grapples with grief and complicity in a toxic system through the lens of a court case concerning the death of Khatijah Ghazzali. Khatijah, a 17-year-old magic student at the fictional Kalamad University, had been involved in Galatine, a mysterious organization at the university for select magic students. Galatine sends its members out on dangerous secret assignments, which led to the deaths of several students, including Khatijah.
The play opens with a meeting between lawyer Erin Miller (Lauren Stoller) and law student Ralph Dunn (Sophie Herron) discussing Khatijah’s court case six months after her death. With a simple set design of a desk and a warm lamp, the focus is fully on the emotions the actors portray. After Erin claims there’s no future for the court case, Ralph turns to the audience, begging them to read the transcripts from the deposition for themselves and hold Galatine accountable.
The rest of the play is told through these transcripts, as Erin gathers Grace al-Bahr (Brooke Sosin), Porter Grace (Dom Balise), Daniel “Danny” Hawthorne (Rowan Cunningham) and Ralph together for a meeting. Tension builds as the characters blame each other for Khatijah’s death. Grace was Khatijah’s roommate, who should’ve noticed something strange was happening. Porter worked with Khatijah on a couple of assignments for Galatine, yet he was oblivious to most of Galatine’s secrets. Perhaps most guilty is Danny, Khatijah’s mentor, who was fully aware of the danger she was in and tried his best to protect her. Meanwhile, Ralph doesn’t actually know Khatijah, but he strangely seems to be the most invested in the case.
The tension explodes into a fight between Porter and Danny, during which glimpses of magic are shown through a flashing light effect. The play continues with Erin individually interviewing the other characters to gather evidence, bringing the audience deeper into the elaborate magical world crafted by Hussain.
Hussain originally wrote “The Ghazzali Dossier” as a short story while participating in the Alpha Young Writers Workshop, a writers’ workshop for teenagers specializing in short fiction, sci-fi, fantasy and horror. Later, she revised the story into a play. Much of Hussain’s inspiration for “The Ghazzali Dossier” came from the Tufts environment, with its old brick buildings and interesting people.
“I’d … see a guy with a cool sweater, and I was like, okay, but what if he was in a secret society?” Hussain said.
Other elements of Tufts’ culture are also present in Kalamad’s culture, such as in the unique way magic is perceived. Magic is seen as frivolous rather than desirable: only useful for levitating drinks at Galatine’s legendary parties. Porter minors in magic, choosing to major in electrical engineering, while Grace expresses confusion at Khatijah’s decision to study magic rather than something more “practical,” a sentiment that mirrors how STEM majors often view the humanities. It is later revealed that Galatine uses its reputation to maintain exclusivity by hiding the true extent of its magic capabilities.
The play’s epistolary format is what truly transforms it from a conventional story to an exploration of grief and accountability. “You almost get three stories at once,” Hussain said. “You get what happened leading up to [Khatijah’s] death, what people have done in response to her death — which is the depositions — and what people have done in response to the case being dismissed — which is the transcripts.”
The issue of complicity in a corrupt system is largely seen through the character of Danny, Khatijah’s mentor. In one scene, Danny describes the strain of constantly healing Khatijah’s injuries, admitting that he knew she was doomed from when he first. “Danny was very entrenched in the system that he’s now trying to challenge, and he was trying to protect someone within [that system], and ultimately was not able to” Hussain commented.
Cunningham brought an incredible emotional depth to her portrayal of Danny, highlighting the guilt and grief he felt over Khatijah’s fate.
As for what happens next with the court case? Hussain says that the fact that the audience has watched the play means that Khatijah’s story is being told. The play ultimately ends on a hopeful note, leaving open the possibility of change within Galatine.
