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An enjoyable short play, exploring the effect of words and language, that is both funny and thought provoking.Summary
Rating
Good
The scene is the Downing Street Press Office where the Prime Minister’s team are having a panicky meeting about something he has just said on live TV. Apparently he did not stick to his briefing and started ad-libbing – again. The damage control plan is not going well as he is refusing to apologise, say ‘sorry’, not even ‘soz’, be remorseful or any of the other myriad synonyms available, all listed and considered by the team.
There follows a series of short scenes exploring the use, meaning and effect that words and language can have. The sketches range across domestic scenes from Romford to Highgate; WhatsApp chats; a radio programme; conversations and monologues. There are questions: What is ‘normal’?; Do words hurt just as much as sticks and stones? These scenes are a bit of a hotchpotch, some more memorable than others. There is a mix of comedy (such as ‘Upstairs at the Royal Court Theatre’ where a few unfortunate audience members have to gather their belongings and move seats) and the more serious. An emotional scene where a man speaks about his perceived failure as a father stands out.
I enjoyed the fact that we never actually learn exactly what it was that the Prime Minister has said. A bit like horror films, where what our imagination fills in for the unseen is often much more frightening than what is eventually revealed, we can only guess at the words that caused so much turmoil and offence, and those guesses will be different for each individual. Similarly, in other scenes such as ‘Different’ where a couple are having an argument arising from one of them being described as “…different” and “…not practising”, the religion is not specified and although in this instance the inference is Islam, the dialogue could just as easily be about any other faith.
The cast of five (Issam Al Ghussain, Kosar Ali, Simon Manyonda, Sirine Saba, Yusra Warsama) do sterling work playing a multitude of characters and make good use of the space in the middle of the audience. The simple set is all that is required, mostly just using chairs in the square performance space, with the notable exception of the No 10 Press Office, which is brightly lit behind a large glass window, separating the characters from the audience and the other non politician roles.
At a crisp 80 minutes this is an enjoyable evening, amusing, witty and thought provoking, demonstrating the power of language and what effect it can have.
Written by: Rabiah Hussain
Directed by: Nimmo Ismail
Word Play plays at Royal Court Theatre until 26 August. Further information and bookings can be found here.
