Review: The Night Ali Died, Canal Café Theatre

Ali is dead – well, the clue is in the title. We’re told exactly how and when he dies by a voiceover and by Ali himself (Christopher Sainton-Clark), addressing the audience from beyond the grave. What we quickly discover, though, is that Ali isn’t the terrorist the title might initially suggest. It’s short for Alistair: very white, very middle class and, until events spiral violently out of control, fairly ordinary. He’s a lab technician living a quiet life in Norwich with his partner and young baby – dull, mundane, predictable. That all changes when his best friend and colleague gets tangled up in something that will end disastrously for everyone involved.

Along the way, we meet a string of characters, all played by Sainton-Clark, from minor to major players. There’s Jason, who’s clearly up to no good; Detective Wiggins, who’s even less trustworthy; and London gangster and drug dealer Max Wheeler, who is definitely up to no good. What binds them together is simple: they’re all heading towards nasty ends. Sainton-Clark is excellent throughout and, with little more than a change of jacket or shift in posture, becomes each character convincingly. Jason’s London street accent – the kind adopted by young white men borrowing heavily from Black London culture – is spot on. Wiggins has the clipped confidence of a TV detective. The only slight misstep is Wheeler supposedly being 61; Sainton-Clark simply doesn’t look or sound old enough to quite sell it.

Ali is a film buff, and Sainton-Clark (who wrote the play) clearly is too. That cinephile energy runs through the script, packed with movie references, and especially through the sharp sound and lighting design, also by Sainton-Clark (is there anything he can’t do?). The sound cues in particular are superb, adding texture and atmosphere in ways you don’t always find in a low-budget production staged in a tiny theatre above a pub.

As a performer, Sainton-Clark is hugely engaging, pulling the audience into this grim world of drugs, violence and bad decisions. He holds attention effortlessly and remains believable throughout, with an easy physicality that never feels forced. The script has wit and bite, but wisely, Sainton-Clark leaves directing duties to Rosanna Mallinson, whose assured handling keeps everything moving at exactly the right pace.

There’s something faintly of La Ronde about The Night Ali Died in its cyclical structure, except here the connecting thread isn’t sex or romance but death on the streets of Norwich. The story never loses momentum, and the final twist – spoiler-free here – lands with genuine force; I certainly didn’t see it coming.

Sainton-Clark is a talent to watch out for, and it will be interesting to see what he does in the future; for the present, the excellent The Night Ali Died is well worth 55 minutes of anyone’s time.

Written by Christopher Sainton-Clark 
Lighting & Sound Design by Christopher Sainton-Clark
Directed by Rosanna Mallinson

The Night Ali Died plays at Canal Café Theatre until Sunday 10 May.