Hamza Jahanzeb

Category: Theatre Reviews

  • REVIEW: The Father and the Assassin, Olivier Theatre – National Theatre (2022)

    REVIEW: The Father and the Assassin, Olivier Theatre – National Theatre (2022)

    Paul Bazely (Mohandas Gandhi) and Shubham Saraf (Nathuram Godse) in The Father and the Assassin
    Photo Credit: Marc Brenner

    Plays 12 May – 18 June 2022 at the National Theatre, London
    Press Night: 28 May 2022

    Indhu Rubasingham’s direction of the beautiful production of The Father and the Assassin brings to the stage a rather important piece of history – the partition of British India and its aftermath for the Indian subcontinent- whilst also delving into a deeper, more personal narrative surrounding Nathuram Godse, who you may or may not know as the assassinator of Gandhi.

    To be blunt, I would never have imagined being charm the socks off by an assassin but in this piece, I had to continually remind myself that this person did indeed kill another human being. The play is imaginative, with writer Anupama Chandrasekhar’s work being sensitive, sharp and sound throughout. The writing – for an epic story of a grand scale – matches the stage perfectly for which is it set, and fills it with heartwarming dialogue, but also ice-cold dramatic tension on several occasions. I personally loved how the character of Godse (performed effortlessly by Shubham Saraf) broke the fourth wall – especially with the opening five minutes and the audience’s first interaction with the assassin – I was entranced by his ability to command the stage. Some great performances by Marc Elliot and Irvine Iqbal as the Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah respectively; the way Paul Barely creates Gandhi’s character as unique and not overwrought also made this particularly enjoyable.

    I never thought I’d ever feel sympathy for a murderer, not least the assassinator of such a renowned global figure. This piece manages to weave a picture/vignettes of history, and simultaneously look to tackle deeper and more disturbing ways in which individuals are radicalised (from non-violent to violent movements), and which sadly can be seen in our wider global society to this day. I’d perhaps only cut this by a mere ten minutes in the first act, but otherwise this was a stellar performance; it still made me feel emotions, and taken on a collective ride as an audience member throughout.

    The Father and the Assassin is a lesson in how to bring an important part of history to life on the stage, and in ways that make you think about the piece long after you’ve seen it on stage.

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

    Access performances are as follows:
    Audio Described performance: Saturday 11 June at 2pm with a Touch Tour at 12:30pm
    BLS Interpreted performance: Friday 10 June at 7:30pm
    Captioned performance: Saturday 4 June at 2pm
    Smart Captioned glasses from Tuesday 24 May

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  • REVIEW: East is East, Birmingham Rep 2021

    Press Night: 10 September 2021

    Pictures: Pamela Raith Photography

    My first theatre trip outside of London in 2021 was the 25th anniversary of Ayub Din Khan ‘s East is East. As someone who was only two years old when the original play was put on at the Rep (yes, the movie did indeed come three years later!) I was honoured to be invited to take a look at the cast of an iconic play-made-into-a-BAFTA-winning-film at the Birmingham Rep Theatre on Friday 10 September 2021.

    The story, for those of you who aren’t au fait with the iconic British film – which starred the late Om Puri, and Linda Bassett – is as follows:

    George Khan and Ella Khan live in Salford in 1971 with their six children; Abdul (23), Tariq (21), Maneer (19), Saleem (18), Meenah (16) and Sajit (12), and run a fish and chip shop. George is from Pakistan, and still has family, including a wife, in Azad Kashmir in West Pakistan, whilst Ella is from England. George wants his children to be raised Muslim and in the proper Pakistani way, but the kids have other ideas…It’s up to Ella, with the help of her good friend Auntie Annie, to try and keep everybody happy.

    (Amy-Leigh Hickman as Meenah Khan, Gurjeet Singh as Tariq Khan, Joeravar Sangha as Maneer Khan and Adonis Jenieco as Saleem Khan)

    The Rep has quite a large proscenium-arch stage and at times the set changes to depict the home of Ella and George Khan and also the chip shop where the Khans work. The set depicts the north of England with red bricks lined up, and screens with black and white footage of Salford in the 70s. Footage of rain depicted the change of scene brilliantly. I enjoyed the transition as we saw the back door where Sajit, the youngest son, escapes the domestic home when in need of some alone time, turn and become the inside of the chip shop. The performance shows the frank and open conversations that are had out of earshot of the siblings’ father, when the siblings are all together. They face their own ordeals – in Saleem’s case, the fact he’s studying art instead of engineering at college. I felt moved and invested in the way the character’s journey towards a plot line makes you root for each and every one of them (including Nazeer, the son who chose to break away from the nuclear family).
    (Tony Jayawardena as George Khan)

    The way the family tensions increase as the show progresses provides such entertaining scenes, one particular highlight was in the second act with Mr. Shah (played by Irvine Iqbal) bringing the Khan family portraits of the daughters to offer as potential brides. This scene had the audience in fits of giggles (many of whom, were waiting for the most famous line “Mum, Dad, the P***s are here!”). There is an outstanding monologue by George (Tony Jayawardena) of the ills faced by a minoritised community in the 70s. A scene in the second act with Sajit did occur to me as being a little harsh of the treatment of the youngest, but this was again the portrayal of the sibling dynamic which was really amplified. I felt it expressed all the rage of angsty teenagers. The comedic timing in the show from the entire case was consistent, as was their stage presence.  The only issue was with sound, as some of the Khan sons were a little difficult to hear at times.

    (Sophie Stanton as Ella Khan and Tony Jayawardena as George Khan)
    All in all, I can’t recommend this show enough as it returns for its 25th anniversary and before it takes to the National Theatre stage reopening the Lyttleton theatre in London. I was entertained, taken back to my youth having lived up north in nearby Lancashire while utterly enjoying a joyous night at the theatre.

    Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

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