David Guest Archives - Page 18 of 20

Homing Birds

Tara Theatre

Reviewed – 27th November 2019

★★★★

“a work of significance and spirited potency,a deep and intelligent examination of people and themes too rarely presented on stage”

A desire to discover roots and gain a sense of belonging drives the absorbing new play Homing Birds, which comes to the Tara Theatre in Earlsfield at the end of a short autumn tour.

Award-winning writer Rukhsana Ahmad’s story is simple and thought-provoking, if a shade predictable, but the well-drawn characters and sparkling performances take it to a higher level altogether.

Produced by the always exciting and risk-taking Kali Theatre company (who specialise in developing and touring contemporary work by women writers of South Asian descent) Homing Birds focuses on an earnest young doctor, Saeed, who was sent to London as a refugee after the US invasion of Afghanistan.

Brought up by a kind British couple he decides he wants to rediscover his family and his heritage back home after the death of his adoptive mother, especially wondering if he will ever see his much-loved sister again.

It’s a well-crafted drama that portrays the pain of separation very well – in this case the adoptive father coming to terms with the death of his wife and their past together and the young man mourning his “mum” as well as the loss, physically and emotionally, of his homeland.

As well as showing us the “settled” life Saeed enjoys (and appreciates) in London after being forced to leave home with less than a day’s notice, the play explores how memories of the past can be romanticised. Saeed has a rosy remembrance of boiled sweets and old songs rather than the war that pushed him away from his family and homeland. What could so easily have been another play about the impact of war on individuals becomes something much more interesting and challenging.

As Saeed Jay Varsani is a revelation and definitely a name to watch for the future. He breaks the fourth wall in this charming performance space sufficiently to allow the audience insight into his thoughts and nightmares without resorting to obvious dramatic soliloquising to a front row from whom he is often only inches away. It is a character we love immediately and Varsani makes it a joy to follow Saeed’s journey of discovery and to share in the different facets of love he experiences.

It is important that any member of the audience can have an idea about the difficulty in tracing roots and feeling one belongs somewhere, especially when one’s knowledge of the place in question relies on questionable memories and the horrors of news headlines. It is here that the writing is most effective and Varsani is always a credible pilgrim, who we just know will be rewarded in the end.

Mona Khalili plays Saeed’s caring sister Nazneen in flashback and a health worker in present day Kabul with a delicacy and understanding. She demonstrates a sacrificial strength in Naz’s decision to marry in order for her brother to have enough money to seek asylum in the first place and her gentle portrayal stands in contrast to the abominations of war which have surrounded her for so long.

As straight-talking Afghan politician Rabbia Suzanne Ahmet gets her teeth into a role that is both shocking in its sense of ambition and commendable as she tries to help Saeed in his quest by encouraging him to return to Kabul to work as a doctor with Medicins Sans Frontieres. She earns several of the few laughs in the play through her appetite for power and no nonsense lust for justice for a people weighed down by history and experience.

John O’Mahony manages to make much of his role as Michael, Saeed’s adoptive father, battling with his own loss yet displaying a strength and support for Saeed. It is a shame that his character rather fizzles out as he also deserves the positive ending of a hope-filled play.

Director Helena Bell ensures the pace never slows without allowing the play to shoot off and miss the tender moments. Huge credit to Helen Coyston for an imaginative and realistic set, doubling as a London home and Kabul, with extra praise to Dinah Mullen for an exciting and atmospheric soundscape.

Homing Birds works on many levels: not only is the male character strong and determined as he faces personal, political and realistically tough issues, but Ahmad also introduces gritty women not frightened of speaking out about taboos and provoking debate about arranged child marriage and other controversial concerns involving women.

If the climax is signposted after just a few minutes and everything is wrapped up a smidgeon too easily, this doesn’t prevent Homing Birds being a work of significance and spirited potency,a deep and intelligent examination of people and themes too rarely presented on stage.

Reviewed by David Guest

Photography by Robert Day

Homing Birds

Tara Theatre until 7th December

Click here to see our most recent reviews

The Arrival

Bush Theatre

Reviewed – 26th November 2019

★★★★

“a play with such vitality at every level that you can only leave the theatre out of breath”

A persuasive drama underlining the need to keep siblings together when adoption happens forms the heart of the authoritative The Arrival, receiving its world premiere at the Bush Theatre.

Better known for his hard-hitting direction of such plays as The Brothers Size, A Taste of Honey and Barber Shop Chronicles, Bijan Sheibani turns to writing with this debut one act play, which he also directs.

The confident writing is potent, the nuanced direction robust in this two-hander which takes the simple premise of English Iranian brothers meeting as adults for the first time after one was adopted as a child.

There is, of course, a sting in the tale: the stirring family reunion also opens up years of suspicion, hurt, devastating truths, tension and vulnerability. Questions about nature, nurture and masculinity come to the fore as the brothers, who are little more than strangers to each other, struggle to communicate though they initially get on.

The emotional depth of the encounter is played out in the round on a raised bare circular stage (designed by Samal Blak), which occasionally rotates, so attention is focussed on the lines and performances.

And the two performances perfectly bring the finely written script to life in a breathless succession of short and pithy scenes, meaningful episodes in the lives of two brothers joined together biologically yet worlds apart emotionally. Despite the attributes they share a key part of the play is wondering if they will ever be able to connect deeper down.

There are tense scenes when we witness the physical strength of the two brothers, through cycling, running and dancing though the younger brother is clearly the one less fit of the two, drawing other complexities to the surface.

Scott Karim’s Tom is the arrival of the title, a computer specialist who runs his own business. He is never quite able to shake off the gnawing sense of abandonment by his parents all those years ago, yet is eager to embrace his “new family.” Karim manages to balance the nervous energy of one excitedly rediscovering his past with the tragic realisation that those he left behind have lived their lives pretty happily without him.

On the other side is Irfan Shamji’s Samad, the younger brother who has to adjust to the new situation and who is far less enamoured by the thought of meeting a brother he barely knew about or his family. This brother has had far more opportunities in life (such as public school and a university education) yet is content in his publishing business and anxious about this possible interloper. He is far more uncertain of himself and wary of his brother, but he feels he has more to lose with a possible new rival to family affections.

The two actors dance around each other verbally and physically with a grace and purpose – no wonder there was a need for Aline David as movement director. It is like watching two sparring partners in a boxing ring, each with a reserved respect for the other but both knowing there will come a time to fight and win.

Even though less is more in this play the writing and performances are such that you want it to last longer. It could be argued that the exact reason for Tom’s adoption is never spelt out and this information would be helpful in a piece that often veers towards the enigmatic, but there isn’t really the time to worry about such omissions.

Sheibani’s skill is in taking the domestic crisis and holding up a mirror to a broader view of society and a world scared to explore emotions or be true to ourselves. The audience is left desperately wanting – perhaps even needing – the brothers to understand one another and re-form a part of their lives so sadly missing, but the cruel reality is that the future doesn’t look bright.

The Arrival is a confident and intelligent new work that once again shows off the Bush as a testing ground for fresh drama to be reckoned with. It is a play with such vitality at every level that you can only leave the theatre out of breath.

Tag Archives: David Guest

Homing Birds

★★★★

Tara Theatre

Tara Theatre

Reviewed – 27th November 2019

★★★★

“a work of significance and spirited potency,a deep and intelligent examination of people and themes too rarely presented on stage”

A desire to discover roots and gain a sense of belonging drives the absorbing new play Homing Birds, which comes to the Tara Theatre in Earlsfield at the end of a short autumn tour.

Award-winning writer Rukhsana Ahmad’s story is simple and thought-provoking, if a shade predictable, but the well-drawn characters and sparkling performances take it to a higher level altogether.

Produced by the always exciting and risk-taking Kali Theatre company (who specialise in developing and touring contemporary work by women writers of South Asian descent) Homing Birds focuses on an earnest young doctor, Saeed, who was sent to London as a refugee after the US invasion of Afghanistan.

Brought up by a kind British couple he decides he wants to rediscover his family and his heritage back home after the death of his adoptive mother, especially wondering if he will ever see his much-loved sister again.

It’s a well-crafted drama that portrays the pain of separation very well – in this case the adoptive father coming to terms with the death of his wife and their past together and the young man mourning his “mum” as well as the loss, physically and emotionally, of his homeland.

John O’Mahony manages to make much of his role as Michael, Saeed’s adoptive father, battling with his own loss yet displaying a strength and support for Saeed. It is a shame that his character rather fizzles out as he also deserves the positive ending of a hope-filled play.

Director Helena Bell ensures the pace never slows without allowing the play to shoot off and miss the tender moments. Huge credit to Helen Coyston for an imaginative and realistic set, doubling as a London home and Kabul, with extra praise to Dinah Mullen for an exciting and atmospheric soundscape.

If the climax is signposted after just a few minutes and everything is wrapped up a smidgeon too easily, this doesn’t prevent Homing Birds being a work of significance and spirited potency,a deep and intelligent examination of people and themes too rarely presented on stage.

Reviewed by David Guest

Photography by Robert Day

Homing Birds

Tara Theatre until 7th December

Click here to see our most recent reviews

The Arrival

★★★★

Bush Theatre

Bush Theatre

Reviewed – 26th November 2019

★★★★

“a play with such vitality at every level that you can only leave the theatre out of breath”

A persuasive drama underlining the need to keep siblings together when adoption happens forms the heart of the authoritative The Arrival, receiving its world premiere at the Bush Theatre.

Better known for his hard-hitting direction of such plays as The Brothers Size, A Taste of Honey and Barber Shop Chronicles, Bijan Sheibani turns to writing with this debut one act play, which he also directs.

The confident writing is potent, the nuanced direction robust in this two-hander which takes the simple premise of English Iranian brothers meeting as adults for the first time after one was adopted as a child.

The emotional depth of the encounter is played out in the round on a raised bare circular stage (designed by Samal Blak), which occasionally rotates, so attention is focussed on the lines and performances.

There are tense scenes when we witness the physical strength of the two brothers, through cycling, running and dancing though the younger brother is clearly the one less fit of the two, drawing other complexities to the surface.

The Arrival is a confident and intelligent new work that once again shows off the Bush as a testing ground for fresh drama to be reckoned with. It is a play with such vitality at every level that you can only leave the theatre out of breath.

Reviewed by David Guest

Photography by Marc Brenner

The Arrival

Bush Theatre until 18th January

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Class | ★★★★ | May 2019

Strange Fruit | ★★★★ | June 2019

Rust | ★★★★ | July 2019

Click here to see our most recent reviews