Tag: royal court

“Shisha lounges are an essential part of the Muslim experience bruv, like the Fillet o Fish” 

To begin with, I want to commend the theatre programmer at the Royal Court for transforming the set of Blue Mist into a “Shisha Lounge”. For those who are not familiar with them, it’s a common hang-out place for those of the (primarily-but-not-exclusive-to) Islamic faith and they often have circular seats, or perhaps a square with a centre table and with shisha (sometimes also known as hookah, or narghile) pipes being smoked by small groups. Now, walking into Chunky’z – which took me back to memories of being on Wilmslow road in Manchester , Pasha’s in Bradford (which is mentioned in the dialogue) or Edgware Road in London – showcased the fine attention to detail from this team’s creative process. The very playlist that you hear as you enters is exactly the same experience you’d experience walking into the lounge. The crowd, filtering in in their droves, took their seats and I was really intrigued by what looked like an electronic pipe centre-piece, and then suddenly the name of the play makes sense to me: the flavour popular among young(er) people. The title “Blue Mist” is a flavour that’s used in the shisha pipes, and is commonly tasting of ‘blueberry with a certain cooling effect of mint’. I was ready to be cooled as I felt the whole ambience was on fire already (due to the thumping music blaring out) and yet the real main event hadn’t even begun.

Asif, (also known as ‘Sif), Jihad and Rashid are three friends who are living in a close-knit community and they visit Chunky’z to wind down after a day of work and to escape the nagging pressures that come from within the domestic environment. It’s a ‘safe space’ for the men to simply be themselves; they let off steam, joke among one another and provide each other to discuss topics that affect them in a frank manner. Of course, there’s one thing uniting them and that’s their faith. They are very much all dreaming of their next project: Rashid would like to set up a gym business, Jihad is hoping for a career in journalism and Asif is the often overlooked one of the trio.

The central dialogue is pretty much perfect, from an authenticity perspective. I can’t express how wondrous it was to see my very own culture reflected on a London stage; and it felt so believable, engaged me from the very start of this piece. The creative team having done their research makes the viewing a truly captivating one. Bhatia’s exceptional direction in the opening scene in particular, guided by the movement director on For Black Boys created a powerful entrance for our three protagonists. Tomás Palmer’s complimentary – yet never compromising – set is brightly delightful, and only enhances the action.

Finally, the delivery of Zain Dada’s writing zings not only on the page but also in practice. The creative team’s study of the language, in particular the Punjabi and English make this a searing watch, and takes you deep into the world of the endearing trio. One of my favourite examples, was the reference to each other as ‘yaara’ (a term of endearment meaning companion) to the jokes about the state of affairs in the UK. I enjoyed how there’s “men” who are just confidently being themselves in a world where they do get short shrift.

In short, get yourself to the Royal Court to witness a fine display of brotherly love; the tenderness amongst the characters, and the fully realised plot make this a brilliant show that deserves more credit amongst theatre-types and the layperson alike. I look forward to what Dada and Bhatia smoke up next, their partnership is truly some to herald as a welcome change to the usually stuffy Royal Court.

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