Britain is a divided nation, but one of the divisions that we don’t hear that much about is that between Pakistani gay men. Written by Waleed Akhtar (who also stars in this impressively heartfelt two-hander), The P Word is about the differences in life experiences between one asylum seeker and one Londoner, and comes to the Bush Theatre in a production which has been supported by Micro Rainbow, the first safe house in the UK for LGBTQ asylum seekers and refugees. So what’s it all about?
‘A thing of importance & carefully pointed simmering rage’: THE P WORD – Bush Theatre ★★★★★
Here’s something you don’t get to experience too often: a gritty piece of contemporary writing that gives theatrical voice to people largely unrepresented on stage, and does so with compassion and comedy; a new play that is at once delicately intimate yet epic in scope, and a cracking piece of storytelling that manages to indict it’s audience without ever feeling preachy or worthy. Waleed Akhtar’s The P Word is a plea for tolerance, a study of the power of friendship, a sort-of love story and ultimately a potent political act that grips like a thriller.
‘Has a vigour that is at times quite intoxicating’: FAVOUR – Bush Theatre
Ambreen Razia’s play Favour looks into the lives of a trio of women from the same family but of rather different generations. It does so with a vigour that is at times quite intoxicating and although it is 95 minutes straight through, the time fairly flies by.
‘Entertaining & thought-provoking family drama’: FAVOUR – Bush Theatre
Favour is another artistic success from the consistently-innovative Bush Theatre, set within a community and on subject matter rarely shown on stage. It is very well worth going out of the way to watch.
‘An excellent piece of deeply felt new writing’: HOUSE OF IFE – Bush Theatre
Beru Tessema’s drama House of Ife, about an Ethiopian-British family facing a tragic loss, is deeply felt and emotional and marks a good start to this venue’s 50th anniversary season.
‘In this buzzing show, no one stands still’: RED PITCH – Bush Theatre
Effortlessly and energetically entertaining: Tyrell Williams’ debut play about football and gentrification is pitch-perfect.
‘Dynamic, energetic & paced like an 800m race’: FAIR PLAY – Bush Theatre
Ella Road’s new two-hander is set in the world of track athletics, but the two characters, Ann (NicK King) and Sophie (Charlotte Beaumont) are not just any runners.
‘It envelops you into the landscape of serious athletics’: FAIR PLAY – Bush Theatre ★★★★
Fair Play is set in the world of female athletics. Ann joins a running club, meets Sophie, and the two bond over their love of running.
Five of my favourite theatre productions of 2021
We all know how we feel about 2021. What we need to do is celebrate what made it fabulous so here is my pick of what the year had to offer.
‘The performers ring true throughout’: FAIR PLAY – Bush Theatre
Sophie has been running competitively since she was nine. Now on the threshold of adulthood, she’s training hard with an unwavering focused on major international competitions.
‘Some moments are desperately moving, almost unbearably sad’: OLD BRIDGE – Bush Theatre
Powerful, poetic and profound: this well-deserved winner of the 2020 Papatango New Writing Prize now gets a cracking production on the main stage at the Bush Theatre.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Old Bridge at the Bush Theatre
On LoveLondonLoveCulture, Emma Clarendon rounds up the reviews for Igor Memic’s 2020 Papatango New Writing Prize-winning play Old Bridge, now running at the London’s Theatre until 20 November 2021.
‘Perfectly captures how easy it is to slip into war’: OLD BRIDGE – Bush Theatre
A young woman listens to pop music on headphones. The people around her can’t hear it. We, the audience, can – a bit. But it’s a solitary experience; unshared. Something universal is also isolating.
‘Explores how belief can be a psychological & emotional journey’: 10 NIGHTS – Bush Theatre
This new coproduction between Graeae and Tamasha is not perfect, but it offers a moving insight into ritual and belief.
‘A powerful play from an author we need to hear’: LAVA – Bush Theatre
The lava in the title of Benedict Lombe’s new, fierce, autobiographical play is anger. It flows over the stage, filling the crevasses of the set, and through Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo’s smouldering performance, which soon bursts into flame.
‘Witty, weighted & lyrical’: LAVA – Bush Theatre ★★★★
Last year a critic described a dramatic response to the Black Lives Matter protests, to which Benedict Lombe contributed, as ‘more lecture than theatre’. The quote is projected onto the set of her debut play, Lava, at the Bush Theatre.
‘Passionate, powerful & challenging’: LAVA – Bush Theatre
Benedict Lombe’s new play Lava is semi-autobiographical and full of activism and difficult moments, alongside a story railing against Kafkaesque bureaucracy.
‘A smart & sassy study of loneliness & obsession’: HARM – Bush Theatre
Harm, which has already been screened on BBC Four with Leanne Best, is a new monologue by Bruntwood Prize-winning playwright Phoebe Eclair-Powell and now the one-woman show stars Kelly Gough, familiar most recently from the BBC’s Casualty.
‘Rich, multi-layered play that is clever in its storytelling’: OVERFLOW – Bush Theatre (Online review) ★★★★
Travis Alabanza’s play Overflow is set in the toilet of a club from where transgirl Rosie (Reece Lyons) has locked herself in.
‘Open, thought-provoking, funny & heartbreaking’: OVERFLOW – Bush Theatre (Online review)
New play Overflow by Travis Alabanza returns as a digital stream and proves to be an intriguing hour about the politics of women’s bathrooms and who is allowed in them.