Anish Roy as Mohsen and Varun Raj as Kash in Brown Boys Swim (Written by Karim Khan)
Photo credit: Geraint Lewis
Fantastic storytelling in a heartfelt, vivid, captivating and brutally honest piece centring the Muslim experience in UK
The Soho Theatre once again proves to be the heart of the city’s beating new writers. In this 60 minute piece by Karim Khan (winner of a elusive writing scholarship), Brown Boys Swim is his expression of an excellent gateway to escapism into the lives of two young Muslim men: Mohsen and Kash living in Oxford. Both open the show on an explosive start, with Punjabi Bhangra music filling the space Upstairs at the iconic venue located on Dean Street. There’s talk about Umrah (religious pilgrimage), Wudhu (ablution prior to praying) and much more that make this a strikingly honest portrayal of Muslim life in Britain. The expectations of the two young men, along with their immaturity and sensitivity really shines in the writing.
Where this piece also finds its feet is very much so from the get go, as you enter the space carefully designed by James Button. The music is thumping, which makes you immerse yourself into the space. Roshan Ganga’s sound continues to provide a highlight throughout – from turning on the showers, to the end where we hear Tu Jhoom and the booming voice of Abida Parvenu and Naseebo Lal.
From a set design element, the benches from a swimming pool changing room doubles up as weights, and the clever LED lights flash in colours to represent new locations and make the limited space feel breathtakingly new in every scene. The vignettes of the two mens’ lives as they intertwine – the main reason for them wanting to take up lessons to swim is to attend a classmate’s party. The character study from the writer Karim Khan, couple with the direction by John Hoggarth really do produce an elevated show that sparkles continually. I wanted more when it ended, for the sheer fact I felt befriended by Mohsen and Kash. I saw a lot of myself in Mohsen, and the anguish and reflections of his internal thoughts were so beautiful to see portrayed.
Anish Roy as Mohsen and Varen Raj as Kash in Brown Boys Swim
Photo credit: Geraint Lewis
This is a pretty sold-out show, and without revealing too much: it left me utterly speechless. I was moved, I felt seen, I was in awe of this authentic piece of storytelling on stage. The lighting design worked, as did the set and sound. The team complimented each other – both on stage and off-stage. Anish Roy and Varun Raj have an extremely bright future, and their conviction in their respective characters and their journeys to an audience like tonight’s will be firmly implanted in my mind for a long time after leaving the theatre.
Listing details:
📍Soho Theatre, London: https://sohotheatre.com/shows/brown-boys-swim/
Mon 26 Sep – Sat 15 Oct 2022 3.00pm, 7.00pm