Tag Archives: Bush Theatre

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“The Real Ones” at the Bush Theatre 

Waleed Akhtar’s carefully written and wonderfully performed play is about friendship, and its achievements come from its detail. As with this week’s new musical, Why Am I So Single?, the focus is on platonic love and the play is a coming-of-age piece… of sorts. The relationship between Zaid and Neelam, aspiring playwrights who are both Londoners with Pakistani backgrounds, is recounted in depth through teenage partying, career perils and romantic problems. If some moments feel overwrought, the play remains interesting, funny and heartfelt.

As a drug-fuelled nightclub outing for Zaid and Neelam punctuates the play (maybe a little too often) the characters age from 19 to 36. The specifics of their background, including class and location, and the pressure this puts on both their sexualities are impressively elaborated. With such rich material, Nathaniel Curtis and Mariam Haque do a superb job in the title roles. They are supported by boyfriends for both, further strong parts for Nnabiko Ejimofor and Anthony Howell.

Akhtar’s talent is clear. He writes about having young children just as well as being in an ‘open’ gay relationship. But the impression his characters leave is a little murkier. For my money, Neelam overpowers the show – her no-nonsense talking is admirable and Haque brings fantastic charisma to the role. Her story is more interesting and why she abandons her original ambition to be a writer might have been explored more. The treatment of Zaid seems harsher, his character at best immature and increasingly needy. Thankfully Curtis’ excellent comedy skills lighten matters. Director Anthony Simpson Pike’s work is strong throughout, and he is clever to allow the humour in the piece to shine.

There’s a lot of angst from Zaid, and a concomitant risk of compassion fatigue. I’ll admit it’s a pet hate of mine – writers complaining about writing don’t get a lot of sympathy from me. But even taking that into account, he’s an arrogant soul, too self-obsessed at times to be believable. Being truthful about what you write is the central point, with both young writers asked to raise “the stakes” to get their plays put on. Neelam doesn’t, but Zaid does… While Akhtar stays true to his vision, you might consider The Real Ones a small story. But therein lies its strength.

Until 19 October 2024

www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Photo by Helen Muray

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“Shifters” at the Duke of York’s Theatre

A lot of people are understandably excited about playwright Benedict Lombe. Shifters is only her second piece, a hit transfer from the Bush Theatre, and is a smart take on a romcom that deserves its big success. The production is a credit to director (and unerring talent spotter) Lynette Linton, as well as the two cast members – Heather Agyepong and Tosin Cole – who should get their mantlepieces ready for trophies.

It’s the story of Des and Dre and, as you might guess, the narrative… shifts: from schoolfriends to lovers to their breakup, and then meeting again after many years. But Shifters is also a memory play, so the action goes back and forth, flipping between that reunion and the couple’s history. Linton makes sure the toing and froing is clear (credit also to the excellent lighting design by Neil Austin), and Lombe uses the structure of her script thrillingly.

“Epic and easy”

The time travelling is great. And it gives rise to big questions. Lombe has things to say about the science of memory, and even first love, raising lots of issues about race, gender, psychology and communication. It helps that Des’s dad is a neuroscientist and that she is a visual artist. There is fresh thinking on tropes around romance – take the idea of soulmates or, rather, if you only have one, should that be sole mates? For each, Linton gives the audience time to think.

Both characters are thinkers, too. They met in debating class at school, and they appeal and excite as a result. That they are so well matched makes the show undeniably sweet, even if they end up apart. Their arguments are fun as well as profound. Nothing is heavy handed, although there are also serious events – Des and Dre have faced trauma. It is telling that Lombe’s skill makes deceased family members vivid characters. Overall, Shifters is marked by its optimism. It’s a relief to watch a play about two successful people! Even if their love didn’t work out, they have fulfilled big dreams.

Maybe their achievements help with the comedy in the piece – this is a very funny play. The repartee between Dre and Des is superb, Agyepong and Cole deliver every line perfectly and are a joy to watch. The swift changes in time, and mood, make the play a tough ask of its cast. Over the course of the years, their characters also shift. But that great sense of humour is the key. Even through heartache, Dre and Des can laugh together, and it proves impossible not to fall in love with them – and this play.

Until 12 October 2024

www.shifterstheplay.co.uk

Photo by Marc Brenner

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“The Cord” at the Bush Theatre

Parenting, with a focus on fatherhood, is the subject of this new play written and directed by Bijan Sheibani. Intense and poetic, it sees a trio of brilliant actors examine emotions and experiences around having a child.

Ash and Anya are new parents. Overwhelmed by their love for little Louie, the everyday dramas – around grandparents or restarting a sex life – are overshadowed by bigger issues. Sheibani handles tension with subtlety, as do Irfan Shamji and Eileen O’Higgins, who take the roles and are convincing as being sleep deprived and on the edge. There’s a continual refrain that problems are not a big deal. So when arguments escalate, the atmosphere is especially fraught.

Ash’s status as a new father – indeed his whole life – seems overshadowed by his mother, Jane, who suffered from post-natal depression. Again, there is a surface calm, brilliantly portrayed by Lucy Black. But any pretended ease – over not seeing her grandchild or worrying for her own son – is effortful. When the arguments really start, there are painful home truths. Black’s performance is controlled and powerful.

All the emotion is emphasised by the composer and cellist Colin Alexander, who joins the actors, his harmonics echoing the action brilliantly. Oliver Fenwick’s lighting design is also strong, with a huge light box overhead subtly shifting colours. The whole production is stylish, with a heightened air, but it’s a shame some of the miming isn’t better.

Jane doesn’t have a lot of time for the possibility that Ash might be suffering. Does the audience? It’s a further tribute to Shamji’s performance that his character has appeal (although I wonder how much responses to the role depend on whether or not you’ve given birth). Ash does seem to want the focus of the women to return to him. And that’s hard to get past.

There’s another problem that might prove increasingly annoying… Ash’s Dad is around – he is mentioned several times and the two talk. It seems odd that Ash doesn’t speak to his own father about fatherhood. At least, there might be an explanation as to why this conversation doesn’t happen. It’s a stumble in such a detailed, focused work. The script is so skilful, I’ve no doubt the decision is deliberate, but it seems such a glaring omission that it skewers the whole play.

Until 25 May 2024

www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Photos by Manuel Harlan

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“Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen” at the Bush Theatre

It makes sense that Marcelo Dos Santos’ monologue was a success at the Edinburgh Festival. The Comedian character we spend an hour with has a lot to say about humour and his delivery is impeccable. It’s clear Samuel Barnett, who takes the role, could have a second career in stand up. And the play is very funny.

Dos Santos provides insight as well as laughs, even if not all his ideas are new. The tears of a clown cliché, the need for an audience – we know all this – but less so the cold calculating skill of the comedian’s craft being compared to the work of a butcher. Along with stops and starts to what may or may not be the routine, there’s enough to make you pause, question and think.

The play is a love story, too, as an affair with an American, whose name is never revealed, develops. Again, discussion of dating apps and cultural differences is standard stuff, although well written. The offstage character is vivid and the romance endearing. And there’s a great twist when it comes to “what’s wrong” with this new love that provides a surprising and neat conclusion.

It’s all tightly written, and Matthew Xia’s direction helps enormously. If there are reservations, you might question how well Dos Santos handles his “unreliable first-person narrator”. The Comedian, with his hook-ups and drug use, might be too obviously troubled to create much tension? Too frequently his passive aggression is, well, just aggressive.

Still, it is a bold move to stretch our sympathy, and Barnett really comes into his own here. The “professional neurotic” he plays often grates, but he earns our attention even when he’s being contemptuous. And you feel for him even though he is silly. After all, isn’t being morbid and self-obsessed contradictory? (If you think life is pointless, why does yours matter so much?)

If the show aims at edgy, it doesn’t quite get there, but all involved do a great job. The script is efficient, Xia sensitive and Barnett fantastic. Even the microphone is used to great effect – as a weapon and a shield. How Barnett manages his single prop neatly parallels the show’s underlying anger and vulnerability.

Until 23 December 2023

www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Photo by The Other Richard

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“Sleepova” at the Bush Theatre

Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini structures her new play to great effect. At first, the scenario is simple, slight even, with four friends celebrating a 16th birthday. As a sweet coming-of-age story with great humour, and fantastic energy from Jade Lewis’ impeccable direction, there are smiles all round.

Ibini tackles common problems that come with writing about young people well. Rey, Elle, Shan and Funmi are smart and very funny, but not so much beyond their years. They have some silly ideas – one source of fun – but their wit is a delight. Ibini’s writing is detailed and specific – addressing age, race and location – but always has an eye on universal experiences that come from first loves and leaving school.

The cast responds to the strong script superbly. Amber Grappy, Shayde Sinclair, Aliyah Odoffin and Bukky Bakray bring an ease to the scenes that make the girls’ ages and friendships convincing. They are a joy to watch. The characters are distinct and complex. While you fear a sharp tongue, with cutting lines delivered perfectly by Bakray, or note Grappy’s cleverly suggested nonchalance, it is clear these girls care deeply about each other. Grappy and Sinclair make their roles charming but both Rey and Elle have a selfish side that makes them believable. The quartet’s touching friendship, mixing banter with sincerity, comes to the fore when things get tough for all of them.

Ibini prepares us for the play to become darker… but I admit I was having so much fun I missed it. After the interval, Elle’s parents’ protectiveness becomes abusive when she is sent to a gay conversation camp. Meanwhile Rey’s affair with an older woman has its own problems. Shan suffers from sickle cell disease and has a near-death experience. And Funmi’s father dies. There is heartbreak in Sleepova – every character has a scene that moves, a defining moment in their maturity, an instant when a young life is being shaped.

By getting to know the girls, the audience is invested in them and cares about the problems they face. Sleepova is gripping as a result. Maybe the four grow up a little too quickly? Or maybe they mature too evenly? But big problems are faced and the development of each is heartwarming. Remarkably, humour is retained throughout – the performers are fantastic comedians – even in the darkest moments. The sense that, through their friendship, all will be well might be an idealistic touch. But Sleepova’s optimism makes it a play to fall in love with.

Until 8 April 2023

www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Photo by Helen Murray

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“The P Word” at the Bush Theatre

The letter in the title of Waleed Akhtar’s play covers two insults – slurs against people from Pakistan and homosexuals. The play makes important political points with clarity and skill. Still, the best moments come when the writer confounds expectations.

The P Word is a close examination of two very different men. Bilal (or Billy) is British and deliberately written as unlikeable. His life is work, the gym and Grindr. It’s a harsh view of gay culture, and any humour is bitter. It takes time to appreciate the problems the character faces, a journey the author Akhtar, who performs the role, tackles superbly.

Audience sympathy is channelled towards Zafar, who is seeking asylum having fled Pakistan when his homosexuality was discovered. Esh Alladi brings an intense energy to the role, which is agitating to watch. Anxiety surrounding the future and the trauma Zafar is running from are depicted with sensitivity. But it’s moments of joy, despite everything, that add originality and appeal most. What Zafar goes through is a wakeup call, delivered with conviction, that many need to hear – and the theatre has worked with the charity Micro Rainbow during production.

The two stories are told in tandem, woven together in the skilled script and by Anthony Simpson-Pike’s strong direction. Presenting the men in such detail – so they aren’t just cases or examples – leads to examining prejudices and provides insight especially into the characters’ sad self-hatred and questionable behaviour.

'The-P-Word'-inset-at-Bush-Theatre-Photo-credit-Craig-Fuller

The P Word gets even better when the men meet. A friendship that develops with fits and starts acknowledges how complex their lives are. The performances blossom, but will romance?

There’s tension around this love affair, some coming from the fact that the characters see themselves as an unlikely couple. And, of course, there’s Zafar’s potential deportation. To avoid plot spoilers, let’s just say the play becomes both exciting and rousing. What impresses most is Akhtar’s clever handling of the sentimental, which leads to a superb finale.

Until 29 October 2022

www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Photos by Craig Fuller

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“Favour” at the Bush Theatre

Six months and 40 shows into 2022, Ambreen Razia’s new play is the best thing I’ve seen so far. A deceptively simple story about three generations of one family, the script is hilariously funny and deeply moving. Four unforgettable characters are brilliantly realised by a talented cast. 

First up for praise – Favour has a decent plot. Beginning with Aleena’s release from prison, we want to know why she is late? What has happened to her mother, Noor, and daughter, Leila, while she has been away? And why was she in prison? Family secrets and feelings are revealed with skill under the careful direction of Róisín McBrinn and Sophie Dillon Moniram. It isn’t all doom and gloom either – there’s a magical fantasy scene for Aleena and Leila with “sugar and TV allowed” that is winning. As for why we care so much – the answer comes with Razia’s excellent characters.

With Aleena, Avita Jay portrays a mercurial woman with mental health and addiction problems who is both dangerous and inspirational. The role of Noor is taken by Renu Brindle, who shows us a figure of fraught dignity gradually transforming. The youngest character Leila is exceptionally well written with a mix of smart remarks and naivety that is wry and emotional. Ashna Rabheru, who takes the part, is fantastic, especially in scenes that show the character suffering from anxiety.

Rina-Fatania-and-Renu-Brindle-in-'Favour'-at-the-Bush-Theatre-credit-Suzi-Corker
Rina Fatania and Renu Brindle

There’s a fourth character too – Fozia, played by Rina Fatania – a busybody whose barbed comments get the audience howling with laughter. Fatania provides brilliant comedy though Fozia is more than a clown (note her departure from the stage).

Presenting different ages could be a clumsy shortcut for conflict.  But Razia is careful to provide depth so that Favour is continuously stimulates. And Razia’s intelligence is seen as the play tackles serious ‘issues’ too. It is notable that this is a story of working-class women and that the play is firmly rooted within a London Muslim community. Furthermore, the play is co-produced by Clean Break (whose members include women with lived experience of the criminal justice system). But this is all addressed with a matter of fact, fresh, feeling; none of these factors define the characters, no matter how much they must negotiate life with them.

Instead of problems, the love that comes with motherhood is the focus of these women’s lives. No matter accusations to the contrary, you never doubt the love the family feel for one another, and this drives the play. Razia has created a dramatic space for powerful reflections and truths. That the youngest character takes the lead is a suitably upbeat conclusion to a superb show.

Until 6 August 2022

www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Photos by  Suzi Corker

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“House of Ife” at the Bush Theatre

Given its subject matter, Beru Tessema’s debut play is remarkably enjoyable. An estranged family struggling with the death of the titular character through drug addiction sounds grim. But Tessema’s confident comedy skills add well-placed lighter touches. And an exciting ear for dialogue gives this straightforward domestic drama its own originality.

This is a family with secrets, that’s haunted by grief, but the strong bonds between its members are the focus. Establishing a trio of bickering siblings is well done from the start – and great fun. Taking the lead is an adorable younger brother, Yosi, whose performance by Michael Workeye is the standout for the whole show.

Michael Workeye in House of Ife at the Bush Theatre
Michael Workeye

The deceased Ife’s sisters show us different sides of grief, and the performances by Yohanna Ephrem and Karla-Simone Spence make a good contrast. The parents bring yet more insight through their Ethiopian heritage and the father doing “God’s work” (while starting a new family) back in Addis Ababa. There are strong performances again, this time from Jude Akuwudike and Sarah Priddy.

With so much ground to cover – the family history and big issues – it might not be surprising that Tessema addresses topics thinly. Questions of belonging, of culture and of religion from five different perspectives are explored – but not that deeply. Ife’s addiction isn’t examined enough, leading to this pivotal offstage figure feeling sketchy.

Instead the show’s strengths come from comic observations and the tension between generations. Director Lynette Linton’s close work, with the steady flow of conversations between the parents, the children, and the whole family, are always engrossing. The pacing is excellent, with loud arguments and quiet reflection nicely balanced. An explosive final scene provides a worthy payoff for all the care and attention taken.

Until 11 June 2022

www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Photos by Marc Brenner

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“The Sh*t” at the Bush Theatre

Kenny Emson’s play tells the story of a youth worker, Eric, and his client, Daniel. The script is detailed and tidy, qualities reflected in Alexander Ferris’ admirable direction. The performances are excellent.

Eric and Daniel meet often (I’m not quite sure your average troubled youth gets this much quality attention) and the drama of their developing and turbulent relationship is effective, if predictable.

Eric’s troubled past is expected, too. And doesn’t quite explain his connection with the younger man. But Lladel Bryant’s performance in the role is exceptional – the growing care and exasperation he feels with Daniel is believable and moving.

The writing for Emson’s younger character is better. Daniel provokes and challenges not just his youth worker but the audience. Dillon Scott-Lewis brings out the intelligence and humour of the role and allows Daniel to be vulnerable as well as angry.

It is a little too easy to see The Sh*t as a two-hander that aches to be expanded. Eric’s boss is a voiceover performed by Samantha Béart and, while Bryant does his best, these scenes are poor. Maybe the idea was that having an offstage manager would provide a Big Brother scenario – but both the role and the arguments need to be stronger.

Eric’s despair and rage against the system – and its scorecard assessments of people – may be naïve, but it is powerful. The recurring question of how Daniel rates with “managing feelings” – a score that Eric doesn’t reveal – is worth considering with regards to all three characters. The scope to develop and focus on this theme is clear.

Until 23 April 2022

www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Photo by Ant Robling

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“Red Pitch” at the Bush Theatre

This assured debut by Tyrell Williams makes playwriting look easy. A carefully modest story of young friendship, Red Pitch is funny, sweet and has something important to say about life in London.

The three 16-year-olds we watch practising football is surely a challenge to negative stereotypes about young black men. You can’t review what a play isn’t but, suffice to say, they are an admirable trio: smart, supportive of one another and dedicated. Getting to know them is a pleasure. And Williams’ comedy writing is joyfully solid.

It helps that the roles are wonderfully performed. Under Daniel Bailey’s exuberant direction, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Emeka Sesay and Francis Lovehall bring the characters to life – comfortably so. The confidence isn’t surprising – all three performers are bright young things – but it’s also appropriate given the sense of camaraderie between them. The banter is recognisable as common among young men. The affection, less so – and this is what impresses most.

These lives are not easy. But nor are they a grim, defeated struggle. Omz is a primary carer, despite his age, which leads to moving moments for Lovehall. Bilal is under pressure to become a professional football player – a plot allowed to emerge with skilful subtlety. The pace of the whole play is commendable, Sesay’s strong depiction of Joey, who matures most as we watch, is indicative of how firmly structured the writing is.

There is a further pressure on these youngsters – one they have no control over. The redevelopment of their estate is a backdrop to the action (carefully evoked by Khalil Madovi’s sound design). As their families relocate, and their community is about to change, there are moments of touching naivety to remind us that our heroes aren’t as old as they pretend to be.

Tensions erupt, and the play threatens to end on a sour note. Separation will occur, and not just because of relocation – these childhoods are about to end. But, as an indication of how involving Red Pitch is, I’m glad Williams suggests friendship will endure, that the bonds shared and enjoyed by the audience aren’t so easily broken.

Until 26 March 2022

www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Photo by Craig Fuller