Tag: Shubham Saraf

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.