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
Photo by Helen Muray