‘The Invisible Hand’ – Thriller on the money…

June 14 2016

A drama much praised in the US comes to the UK and one of its leads tells us why the play is a vital piece of contemporary theatre that explores Islam, international finance and US-Pakistani relations…

THESE are tense times – and any play that explores the relationship between the US and the Muslim world has something to say to us.

Sunday’s shocking and horrific attack on a nightclub in Orlando brings into focus a lot of complex currents.

Imam Saleem (Tony Jayawardena) and Nick Bright (Daniel Lapaine)

Some relevant, some not, but what always seems apparent is how little we understand the other as we seek to define it, especially from our particular point of view; and that much gets mixed up and garbled and we end up making the same mistakes.

Ayad Akhtar, a Pulitzer prize-winning US playwright’s tense political thriller “The Invisible Hand” is on until July 2, at the Tricycle Theatre and explores deep political and economic currents, primarily between Pakistan and the US.

We caught up with Tony Jayawardena, who was last seen in the West End, playing Jess’s (Natalie Dew) dad in the smash musical, “Bend it Like Beckham” (‘BILB’), as he essays the role of Imam Saleem in a four-character play that has many twists and turns and makes its UK debut.

An American banker is kidnapped by a local group in Pakistan and held to ransom. They are not a terror outfit but are keen to extract money and seek a form of – what they see – as justice from the inequality around them.

The kidnapping does not go to plan – the man they capture is not the US bank chief, but someone lower down the chain. He offers something of an ingenious solution to their predicament in return for his release, but does it work?

On the face of it, “The Invisible Hand” looks like a lot of plays illustrating East and West, Islam and non-Muslim, poverty and wealth.

For Jayawardena, the quality of the writing and the nuances made it a compelling work.

“The character I play has some wonderful speeches, and he is not what you expect, the quality of the writing – it was a huge hook as an actor, the words just roll off your tongue,” he told www.asianculturevulture.com

Dar (Sid Sagar) and Bashir (Parth Thakerar)

Despite being in the business some 13 years since passing out from drama school, he has never performed at The Tricycle Theatre before.

“There are few places I haven’t been so when this opportunity came along,” he said making the point that this is somewhere he has long wanted to work.

“It’s not a naturalistic play, it’s all set in one room and there are just four people. The relationships are not just representative on a personal level but on an economic and political level and it’s very dense, and very intricate and very smart.

“It shows the complexity on one level about very desperate needs and wants and hardship and on another level, the very complex economic and political forces (behind it) and the play goes into all this.”

“The Invisible Hand” is directed by Indhu Rubasingham, the artistic director of the Tricycle, and one of the rising stars of the theatre scene, having staged the award-winning “Red Velvet” (written by Lola Chakrabarti), a play about Britain’s first black acting star, Ira Aldridge and directing the more recent Evening Standard best play (2015) “The motherf***** with the Hat” at the National.

Jayawardena said he benefitted from Akhtar being present at the rehearsals and Rubasingham’s singlemindedness of purpose.

“We’ve all been part of the discussion around the issues in the play. What I’ve really got from Indhu is not about the issues, but about telling the story in the best way possible and making it the very best piece of work we possibly can and that’s where she brings her skill – making it the most appealing, gripping and entertaining story that we can.”

For him the strength of the play lies its nuances and subtleties and one that has the audience literally guessing what will happen next.

“It sparks a very intelligent discussion and debate,” argued Jayawardena. “It’s a sort of metaphorical representation of the conversations and the fights and struggles that are going on right now.”

A UCL chemistry graduate, he did a lot of student drama, bitten by the bug when he was at school, and encouraged both to sing and act.

Nick (Daniel Lapaine) and Bashir (Parth Thakerar)

“It was not just about loving it, it but others telling me I had an ability. I joined the UCL drama society and did a lot.”

He trained at the Guildhall School of Drama after university and inspired by the musicals he had seen, as a youngster, pursued the thespian life very seriously.

“By the time, I went to drama school I was really ready to work and buckled down to it,” he said suggesting some had a different attitude at drama school.

The role in ‘BILB’ was something of a culmination of a long held ambition and despite the show receiving many plaudits and mainstream award nominations, it ended up without a single one to its name.

“I grew up as a kid watching musical theatre in the West End and so when I got the part in BILB, it was like a dream come true for the little kid in me.

“The experience was great, I don’t put too much weight (on awards), I met people who liked it and people who didn’t, but I had one 10-year-old girl who told me that the last scene made her cry (in a good way) and that is all I will ever need, that was basically me when I was 10 and going to the theatre and being moved in that way.”

The “Invisible Hand” is probably quite far removed this, but in some ways, in the ongoing dialogue between cultures and beliefs, it deserves to be heard.

“It’s not two-dimensional in any way,” said Jayawardena. “People will be affected by a good story, intelligently told and the ability to reach a lot deeper than what is on the surface.”

Listing
‘The Invisible Hand’ by Ayad Akhtar plays until July 2 at the The Tricycle Theatre, 69 Kilburn High Rd, London NW6 7JR
Box office: 020 7328 1000

More info/Tickets: http://www.tricycle.co.uk/current-programme-pages/theatre/theatre-programme-main/the-invisible-hand/