The plot of "Shesh Yak" goes something like this: a young man (Zarif Kabier) is enthusiastically expecting an older one, a stranger, to be a guest in his home (Laith Nakli, also the playwright), shortly after the Syrian uprising of 2011.

When he arrives, they discuss how much they miss the flavors of their homeland and make some connections — connections which are interrupted by the young man's sudden vicious headaches and maniacal, almost vaudevillian, laughter. Not surprisingly, the young man has plans for the evening that the older one, who is fighting for a new Syria, did not expect. Thanks to a torturous twist, the play quickly falls apart. It's not helped by Bruce McCarty's stiff and aimless direction, which telegraphs each point in the plot before it happens.

"Shesh Yak" refers to a good backgammon roll in Arabic, but there is nothing strategic about this play. That's too bad, because Nakli clearly has an interesting idea here. He tries to explore the damage an autocratic regime can cause its people. This is not a play about the blows the West has dealt to the Middle East, but one about the catastrophes Syrians have caused each other.

And yet — there is something. Nakli's performance is full and heartbreaking. He is feeling more than his play's words express. It makes one want to see that play, the one inside his head. Perhaps it is a less melodramatic, more nuanced work —  the type of work this subject deserves.