Tag: gate theatre

work. class.
work + class.
working class.

“this is a message for ange

​we’re all thinking of you

​know we love you

​know what you’re doing for the culture

know what you’re doing for me”

Brassic FM is nothing without the listeners. While Amir chronicles the precarious nature of living as an undocumented worker in London, Amina searches for help finding out what life was like for her family when they first moved to the UK from Pakistan. But it soon becomes clear it’s impossible to talk about working class culture without looking at the power dynamics of those policing and those being policed.

From cars, kitchens and bedrooms across the city comes a theatrical mixtape – a love letter – to working class culture and music. Brassic FM is a collection of snapshots and shout-outs for the people. Join us for a celebration of the underground sounds of the city.

Co-created by poet Zia Ahmed and Stef O’Driscoll, comes a new piece of theatre about precarity, and how  perspectives on work and making money are inherently tied up in class and culture.

The concept of Brassic FM is one that’s overly in-your-face; there’s political messages lined up a plenty, and a sense of an urgent overhaul of the system that seeks to destroy marginalised voices.

In the play’s first few minutes, prepare to be thrown into the underground-radio station, Brassic FM, and JJ (played by Jonny Britcher) hands out to the audience (interactive is something we’re seeing a lot of that these days aren’t we?) strips of paper with a number to text and devote a shout-out of your own. The breaking of the fourth wall, the invitation to be part of the community whose message is so present in this piece. What it does is take us into the world some of us are overly familiar with in the world of politics, as was the case when the protest bill was made law in the Public Order Bill which commenced on 3rd May 2023.

The set displays posters which include “Kill the Bill”, part of the backlash against the law; a gritty set prepares the audience for the scaffolding (merely reflecting one’s mind in the current state of affairs?) and a plethora of light-up screens that light up in various colours. The stand-out segment concerned a woman who finds her mother’s tape recordings, and it felt unique as I’d never seen that represented on stage. Alas, the effect of the tapes being uncovered and translated by a friends did also feel repetitive and could have been one scene.

However, there’s something truly arresting in the ‘shout-out’ on the radio station that causes beautifully uplifting moments during this production. It’s the love one has for a fellow human being, it’s to lift someone’s spirits, to wish them happy birthday or merely appreciate another human being. We need to deploy more of this concept of shout[ing]-out more, and use every inch of our body to feel the presence of each other. I enjoyed this immensely; the rich study into pirate radio stations, and the care into crafting an authentic piece were noticeable.

The three actors in this give stellar performances: Zainab Hasan, in particular, has a masterful capability to shine in her seamless ways to shift between characters and accents. Jonny Britcher’s ability to rouse an audience was a testament to a strong performance; and as for, Zakiyyah Deen, it was great being able to see an infectious performance to complete a robust trio.

Where this production could have been improved on, was the rather long running time. For me, it felt like the numerous strands of the storytelling – whilst they were poetically versed – they felt contrived. The tightening and focus of the material was something needed to elevate what was an affecting piece.

The play crosses many strands, and this is I suppose deliberate: to showcase those on the margins, who are most affected by the injustices in life and without linear narratives. If you’re up for a night out where you’re immersed in the action  where you can hark back to old school nostalgia, then this is exactly the place to be.

Until Sat 30 Sep.

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Listing information:
evening performances: 7.30pm
saturday matinees: 2:30pm