Theatre to talk about in more ways than one…
MILLI BHATIA is a talent to watch – that might not be news, but the theatre director’s partnership with exciting, young Asian writers is something that is unfurling before our very eyes and demands attention.
Already twice nominated for an Olivier awards for shows, ‘seven methods of killing kylie jenner’ (UK 2021) and more recently ‘Blue Mist’ (2023), she is back at The Bush Theatre in Shepherd’s Bush, London where it all began professionally for her with ‘The Hijabi Monologues’ (2017).
It was around a decade ago at The Bush that she also met Mohamed-Zain Dada, the writer behind both ‘Blue Mist’ and now, ‘Speed’ which is on at the west London venue, now until May 17.
The pair are an exciting and successful theatrical partnership that was forged when the two were starting their professional journeys in theatre.
Dada was a community producer and writing – while Bhatia was making her first professional steps into theatre and both were inspired by the then artistic director of The Bush, Madani Younis, who later become the creative head of the Southbank Centre, before going Stateside in 2019.
‘Blue Mist’ was a Royal Court production that packed a punch and said a lot about young Muslim men. (See our review link below). There were only three male characters in that.
This play has a 50/50 gender split, is funnier and less intense than ‘Blue Mist’ – it also packs a punch, albeit a more nuanced and complex one, where battle lines are drawn, re-drawn and reconfigured in ‘Speed’ – and where the fun and comedy both essentially reside.
In ‘Speed’ three offending motorists attend a speed awareness course.
Set in an anonymous hotel basement, the three offenders all have nine points on their licence and a further three pending after their most recent offence. They are warned that ‘a fail’, will lead to the points going on their licence and effectively, face a driving ban. So the stakes are high and they are keen to pass.
For Bhatia, the play deals primarily with anger.
Bhatia told acv: “It’s about who’s afforded the right to be angry? Who’s given the right to the expression of anger?
“And I think that comes at a really interesting time where you know there are so many ways in which our communities are demonised and looked at as dangerous.”
We spoke briefly about the riots of last summer and how attitudes once thought of as ignorant and obviously prejudiced were being mainstreamed and given credibility – a return to the cultural attitudes of the 1970s, when people thought British and English meant – only white.
“Alum Rock (an area in an area of inner Birmingham), in particular, is referenced in the play.
“It was a place where communities came together (at the time of the riots) and represents what this play is doing,” said Bhatia.
And this is just one of the many themes in a play that covers a lot of complex issues but in an accessible and non-didactic way – it’s entertaining and easy to follow.
“He (Dada) is one of those writers that is able to talk about the political through the personal,” explained Bhatia.
There’s Abz (Nikesh Patel), 38, described as the lead facilitator; Samir (Arian Nik), 27, a delivery driver; Harleen (Sabrina Sandu), 28, a nurse; and Faiza (Shazia Nicholls), 34, an entrepreneur.
Having seen the play, there is a lot about judgement and perception and how the authority figure (Abz/Patel) views his charges, how they perceive each other and how they come to view the man in charge.
It’s very easy to slip into a way of thinking about the posh Fazia, the street Samir or the tracksuited Harleen – Dada disentangles all that, lays it bare and has you asking questions about your own perceptions and the way society, in some ways, forces labels on all of us.
All these characters have felt rage – road rage – but what is interesting is that Dada is asking bigger questions about the nature of rage and how it is perceived in wider society – especially when a minority expresses a rage – a quiet rage that simmers underneath – both at a personal level and more widely.
“I am interested in what people think about whether anger is a useless emotion or not. And the central question, who’s allowed to express it?” posed Bhatia.
All the characters articulate wider frustrations – whether it’s Harleen coming off a long shift and having to support her grandmother; whether it’s Shazia, not getting the investment she needs to grow her business; whether it’s Samir simply being seen everywhere as a ‘boy racer’.
At one one point Abz almost says, “we are in this together” and it’s a powerful motif that underpins the play’s wider themes.
“The more that we hold each other up and express solidarity among us, the more that we all win,” Bhatia stated.
She came into the theatre inspired by the production of ‘Nirbhaya’ (a 2012 play by Yaël Farber) that platformed women talking about sexual abuse and was triggered by the Delhi rape-murder, when a young woman was attacked on a bus by a gang of men.
“That’s how theatre becomes direct action – that’s how you make political theatre, it was such a brave, extraordinary, theatrical piece of work and it made such an impression and got me thinking I want to do that,” answered Bhatia about what inspired her to go into the theatre.
As well as working closely with Dada, she also has a strong working relationship with writer Sonali Bhattacharyya – most recently on ‘King Troll’ (see review link below) which they are now developing as a film. It’s a psychological horror drama.
Bhatia’s work is a lot about the body politic in many ways – about how people and governments affect our state of (well) being.
She is the daughter of actor and writer, Meera Syal and Fleet Street news and sports journalist Shekhar Bhatia. Her parents divorced many years back and remain friends.
“My father took me to the football, my mother took me to the theatre,” Milli told acv. “And both were just as educational as the other.”
Her mother is arguably one of the most famous people in Britain – and was recently nominated for an Olivier award for her role in Tanika Gupta’s moving and magisterial, ‘A Tupperware of Ashes’ and her father’s footballing and sports memoir, ‘Namaste Geezer’, has just been nominated as Football Book of the Year in The Sports Books Awards 2025.
“She’s (her mum) gifted me all my curiosity about the world and my love of storytelling, so I owe her a lot,” cited Milli.
They have a working relationship too.
“I feel so lucky that she now asks me for notes and I think we are very different artists – what aligns us is, who we want to tell stories about.”
Will they work together? She responded : “Yes, we will”, but does not elaborate.
ACV asks about her father too – as The Bird (acv) and her father go back a bit as fellow journalists (and will be explained in our forthcoming interview piece on a ‘Namaste Geezer’).
“He’s also an artist and a writer. I am so lucky to have grown up with two parents that were so curious about the world and people,” reflected Bhatia.
‘Speed’ – entertaining, funny, powerful
‘Speed’ is a super watch, and the claustrophobia of the set – just a listless basement with a kitchen hatch and a fishtank at one end, only add to the psychological torment we will all experience.
It starts quite unassumingly and builds tension as you know Abz (Nikesh Patel), the facilitator is not what he seems – this is perhaps too barely laid out with two abstract scenes – it might have more impact without and played as a straight social drama from beginning to end. This is a relatively minor personal quibble – go see it – it’s especially wonderful to see four Asian characters centre stage and it’s strong ensemble acting.
ACV rating: **** (out of five)
All pictures ©Rich Lakos/ArenaPAL
Listing
‘Speed’ by Mohamed-Zain Dada, The Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, Shepherd’s Bush, London W12 8LJ
https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/speed/
Previously
‘King Troll (The Fawn)’ – Dark, potent, unsettling… – Asian Culture Vulture
