What I liked
I really loved the play. The performances and direction were particularly strong, specific, and moving. The leading man who played the duel roles of the psychologically tortured man and the gay, self assured, romantic philosopher was amazing! He was SO good- equally charming, full of light and seductive in one and confused, dark, and psychotic in the other. His strong performance is central to why the play is so moving.
The other actors are also quite wonderful in their own right. Many playing duel roles demanding one character full of love and light and the flip side full of darkness or fear. The actor playing the transgendered character was perfect. An equal measure of cheekiness and pathos, he was a necessary comic character to the piece, and the actor alway grounded him in reality. Most of the scenes were very well written and the dialogue true.
What I didn't like
The next to last scene, where Rafi breaks down, didn’t pay off for me.
Inserting the flash back scene with the mother, which is so strong and moving, between Rafi learning the fate of his lover, and when he breaks down in a visceral reaction to that news, is too long a wait for the audience to emotionally follow. The audience loses it’s investment in the initial shock of the news. I really wanted to stay with Rafi to the end of his journey, but couldn’t.
My overall impression
I don’t know how to fix this and wouldn’t presume to tell this excellent director and playwright how to do it. However, I think if you could, it would make a very good play into a shatteringly great one.