“Betrayed,” a play by George Packer that is currently at the San Pedro Playhouse, is based on real interviews Packer conducted with two Iraqi translators that risked everything for America’s promise of freedom. The play, directed by Gregory Hinojosa, is currently being performed at the San Pedro Playhouse Cellar Theater until April 3. Tickets are $15 for students, $25 for adults.

The Cellar Theater is a black box theater that holds about 100 people; however, if the cellar was seated to capacity, many may find the theater to have tight seating. The actors are only a few feet away from you; hence, it is very intimate, and there’s not a bad seat in the room. As Adnan—a Sunni who hides his job in the Green Zone from his family—punches the table and yells, you jump in your seat and your heart begins to race. You can see his tears falling at the end of the play, when he thinks about leaving Iraq and his family. Throughout the play, the props stay the same almost the entire play, and the actors aren’t constantly changing their costumes, unless they are transforming into another character.

The play captures the antagonistic life that Adnan, Laith, and Intisar, who no longer wants to follow Islamic law and wear a hijab, live. Daily, the three translators must wait in long lines for clearance to enter the Green Zone, as their fellow Iraqi who cast them as traitors harass them. Though they work in the Green Zone for the Armed Forces, they are still considered threats, because they are Iraqi. The three translators represent the Iraqi people who didn’t follow Saddam Hussein, and believed that their lives would change for the better once American Forces arrived in Baghdad.

Gregory Hinojosa successfully gathers a group of actors that work together effectively, and have chemistry that makes the play real. Eric J. Lozano (Adnan), Jaime Rolando Sanchez (Laith) and Kristel Lara (Intisar) do well presenting themselves as Iraqi individuals, as they have perfected their Middle-Eastern accents and have become their character. Though the story line has a serious tone, there were many times when the crowd busted out laughing, such as when Laith said he learned English by listening to Metallica.

Anthony Cortino plays Prescott, a State Department official that Adnan, Laith and Intisar befriend. Cortino was an audience favorite, and when he provided help to the Iraqi men, the crowd sighed in relief. However, Cortino has a couple of breakdowns in the play, and some may find his crying scenes awkward. Roger Alvarez had five polar roles in the play, from a cursing old man and cleaning up his appearance as an incentive U.S. Ambassador. Paul Singletary played a solider who provided comic relief in tough situations, and an unlikeable security officer who doesn’t trust Adnan and Laith.

There are many curse words in the play, so the play won’t be appropriate for younger children. But if you have any interest in the Iraqi War, or just want to see a well-performed play in an intimate setting, “Betrayed” is well worth your money.