Sweetmeats; The Undying; Hellarious; Sorry for My English – reviews

February 18, 2026Last Updated: February 18, 2026

Four shows, two conventional plays – the top one a world premiere – one stand-up comedy set and a production which encompasses elements of stand-up, spoken word, drama and music ….

‘Sweetmeats’ – Drama has touching, rich cultural connections

Hema (Shobu Kapoor) and Liaquat (Rehan Sheikh) in ‘Sweetmeats’ Bust Theatre pic: Craig Fuller

FINDING romantic love in later years can be tricky – whooa – it’s difficult at any time – but sometimes the world is not ready for two people who tend to look behind a lot and not so much at their future. Enter Hema (63, according to the playtext) and played by Shobu Kapoor and Liaquat (66), reprised by Rehan Sheikh, in this production at the Bush theatre, West London.
Both characters have lost their partners to time – Hema’s husband’s passing occurring when she was a relatively young wife, while Liaquat’s wife’s demise is more recent.
Both attend a Type 2 Diabetes clinic and a friendship of sorts develops, bonding over food, cooking, language and Bollywood.
So far, so good – Kapoor and Sheikh do their parts justice, Sheikh particularly so – his physical presence and natural charisma make him a fine Liaquat; Kapoor’s character is less instantly likeable, she seems suspicious and prickly, especially towards Liaquat at the outset.
He’s a likeable rebel – continuing to enjoy his ‘sweetmeats’, despite his condition and is ready to offer Hema temptation. Their banter is entertaining but lacks real spark and romance. There is no real tension – they could continue being friends and neither of them would be that upset, you feel. Sigh.
You don’t really want to think that about a fictional romantic couple – in the last quarter, we do see more of Liaquat expressing his desire for something more – the shadow of his wife, represented by a playback cassette recording of her voice casts an unnecessary shadow, one feels. What is its purpose?
Both characters feel the weight of their past too much and don’t entertain a future together with their respective children knowing and approving of this new opportunity.
The young writer,Karim Khan, who has already made something of a name for himself in the theatre, has done brilliantly to come up with two veritable characters and both these actors are talented and can do more undoubtedly… Directed by Natasha Kathi-Chandra, of Tara Theatre, and a co-production with The Bush, this has a lot going for it and yet something seems amiss…
This needs more poetry, romance and heart to lift it from enjoyable and satisfactory to powerful, stirring and memorable.

ACV rating: *** (out of five)

Listing

‘Sweetmeats’ by Karim Khan until March 21, The Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, London W12 8LJ

https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/sweetmeats/

Karim Khan interview – https://asianculturevulture.com/sweetmeats-in-demand-writer-karim-khan-talks-about-latest-play-in-trilogy-about-british-muslim-south-asians/

Saaniya Abbas ‘Hellarious’ – Personal, personable, edgy…

‘*Hellarious*‘ – Saaniya Abbas ©AlysiaKnowles/SohoTheatre

ANOTHER day, another Indian woman comedian who – shock, horror – has discovered sex!
Call The Uncles, the Aunties and anyone else interested in being outraged and determined on stopping any single adult having fun of this type… we jest, obviously.
Saaniya Abbas is funny, on point and not scared of leaning back into her Muslim heritage to highlight her obvious banishment to hell (Jahannam) – for having just this sort of fun. Her mother reminds her, a lot about falling below expectations and standards of decency.
Very personal, her stand-up humour is created from her life – growing up in Delhi, living in Dubai with her family, and then followed by porn (after 18), internet cross-cultural dating, marrying a British guy and then divorce, dating, and disappointing her parents again (her mother more even more so).
She is likeable, has good energy and some cute lines – the joke about Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Peter Mandeleson being on the Establishment Naughty Step was inspired and could be developed further and doesn’t trivialise …
It’s probably the one missing element in her otherwise slick repertoire – the one knockout skit or story to make you remember for a long time.
Good-natured (if a little graphic at times), she’s worth catching and has a multi-cultural, relatable global appeal.

ACV rating: ****

Saaniya Abbas (February 9-14), Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE

Archive page: Saaniya Abbas: Hellarious – Soho Theatre

Next South Asian comedy at venue

Hellarious tour – https://www.instagram.com/saaniyax/

‘The Undying’ – A look into the future but the past simmers

Prav (Akaash Dev Shemar) and Amba (Vaishnavi Survaprakash) in ‘The Undying’ pic:Tobi Ejrele

WHEN we first meet Amba (Vaishnavi Survaprakash) and her husband, Prav (Akaash Dev Shemar), they are 81 and 91, respectively and it is Prav’s birthday.
Amba is a loving wife and as they enjoy a birthday cake for Prav – Amba says she has acquired a reverse ageing pill – they can be half their age.
She duly ingests and we see her bright-eyed, studious and full of energy, as she sets her sights on becoming a doctor in her new avatar.
Initially, Prav is unimpressed – doesn’t want to be with her at that age and is happy in his dotage.
But then she is encouraging and living her best life – and urges her husband to join her.
The two don’t have children in the existence we see them at the start – but we learn they did have a daughter who passed away, when she was young. There is a good use of video technology with memory boards behind them.
Amba holds onto the memory, if nothing else, Prav isn’t comfortable and avoids talking or discussing.
The distance between them grows and so too does Prav’s response and it’s that which is at the heart of this debut play by Rea Dennhardt Patel with Imy Wyatt Corner directing.
Do men and women process trauma differently? How much does the past affect us in the present? These are big and profound questions and Patel approaches them, through her characters, with skill and dexterity, for the most part. There is humour and lightness but the play becomes more intense and raw.
Personally speaking, the ending is a little limp – and predictable – and does suggest men are a bit simple and just retreat and diminish in the face of trauma; women grow and get past it…
Nevertheless, Patel is a strong and exciting new theatre voice and this is expected to go on tour later this year.

ACV rating: ***

The Undying by Rea Dennhardt Patel (February 10-11), Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE

Interview with Dennhardt Patel – ‘The Undying’ – play about grandmother rediscovering youth through a reverse aging pill – asianculturevulture.com

‘The Undying’ Tour updates – https://www.instagram.com/the_undying_play/

‘Sorry for My English’ – Refugees but not as we know them…

*‘Sorry for My English’* performers ©DenysSharuda

THIS was a two-nights performance only in London by a theatre company, Teal House Foundation, based in Warsaw, Poland and made up mainly of Russian refugee performers.
A play or a series of one person monologues – this was interesting and strongly relatable to a crowd, where English may not be their mother tongue.
It was also a little surprising in having two performers of colour and mixed race, who had spent much of their life in Russia and had Russian heritage. It’s directed by Ivan Vryrypaev, a multiple award-winning exiled Russian Director who was exiled due to his vocal criticism of the Ukrainian war.
A one-hour show that had many things going for it – genuine personal insights, music, poetry and general entertainment – what it lacked, perhaps, was something that knitted everything together or a narrative arc that could accommodate the differences in tone, approach and quality of content, delivered by different performers.
A good British/English dramaturg might yet be able to develop this into something more than the sum of its parts – a social comedy based on ‘Refugees Anonymous’? Haha. Most Brits on hearing them would just think, Eastern European and that’s ok and not delve. A few, though, might say, ‘Go Back Home’ in today’s anti-immigrant/refugee Britain…
The show has also been performed in Polish (as in ‘Sorry for my Polish’) but dare we say it, this has global potential and can go deeper and funnier.