Two shows with heart, conviction and passion and completing their short runs today, deserve praise…
By Suman Bhuchar
Insane Asylum Seekers – Autobiographical play deeply moving and funny…
THIS is the story of the writer, Laith Elzubaidi performed engagingly by the actor, Tommy Sim’aan, and directed by Emily Ling Williams.
Laith is a young Iraqi whom we first meet when his father is having a heart attack and can’t remember his name. He had to dress and shave for the ambulance responders.
The writer’s family escaped Iraq around 30 years ago and came to London.
The set designed by Liam Bunster is a posh chair and TV monitors piled up with footage of news and film about Iraq.
Alongside this there is a back drop screen which is an extension of their front room with the carpet and furniture drawn on the wall. It also becomes a 3-D screen for other visual imagery projected on to it.
‘Insane Asylum Seekers’ is cutting and personal at the same time.
We hear about his inner thoughts and how OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) affects him at crucial moments alongside his reaction to Alistair Campbell being invited as a guest on to a TV show dealing with mental health.
His parents don’t talk about the past – his mum can shoot a gun.
Sim’aan plays all these characters switching effortlessly from one to another.
Trauma is never discussed. Juxtaposed with humour and comment, this is a story about the inextricable connections and consequences of Imperialism – we see it on the TV screens and the audience get the back story.
Our performer is engaging and likeable and the show is deeply moving.
ACV rating: **** (out of five)
Listing
Until today (June 7)
The Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, London W12 8LJ
https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/insane-asylum-seekers/#Cast%20&%20Creatives
Permission – Between the lines…
HANNA (Anisa Butt) and Minza (Rae Malhotra Mukhtyar) are two besties who live in Karachi, Pakistan and are united by the need to change womens’ lives for the better.
Hanna appears to be from a well-off family and is frail but impassioned – she suffers from anxiety attacks and is prone to do what other people tell her.
She gets to go to study in London, while Minza, who is more grounded gets involved in a women’s movement in Pakistan.
The set by Amanda Ramasawmy is grey raised blocks which are steps or a rooftop of Minza’s home, where the two drink tea and talk.
‘Permission’ fizzes with fine performances from the cast but has too many ideas that need more time and exploration.
This is a debut play by Hunia Chawla and directed by emerging artist, Neetu Singh.
Hanna is lonely in London and there are some fun moments when she’s learning to cook a solitary meal for one and gets the audience involved in the act.
Here, she also makes a friend Anushe (also performed by Mukhtyar) who is a UK British Asian activist involved in student politics, protesting against their university’s investment in the arms trade (which are not well thought out).
Into all this we have Hanna’s experiences of harassment from the local police when she’s out for a drive with her boyfriend Umer, as they are clearly not married.
Later, there are some intimate pictures of her released on the internet which leads to her being estranged from her father ( who appears as an audio voice performed by Bhasker Patel).
‘Permission’ is exploring feminist politics and ideas if what freedom means in the UK versus Pakistan.
Acv rating: *** (out of five)
Listing
Finishes this evening (June 7)
Tara Theatre, 356 Garratt Lane, SW18 4ES
https://taratheatre.com/whats-on/permission/
