Longlisted for the 2018 Fagon Award, Mahad Ali’s debut play is an honest portrayal of the complexities in navigating love and belonging in a society that is hostile to immigrants.

This play follows the journey of two refugee brothers from Nigeria: Hassan (Williams) and Aman (Mugweni) living in the coastal town of Margate, waiting for their asylum to be confirmed. The duo is housed by local hotelier Bill Bradley (Wright) and his son Aidan (Adams), appearing here in his professional London stage debut.

The narrative takes place in the run up to the UK general election in 2015 when the boys’ arrival to this sleepy town causes resistance from the local community, personified by right-wing council candidate, Linton (Eastland). The show aims to explore the politics of immigration, sexuality and religion — and to some degree it does. However, the characters in this production feel a little on the nose, particularly Linton who is presented as a stereotype rather than a complex individual who has justified anger about his changing community, evident from a scene of him at a local husting lamenting that immigration is ‘killing our families’ and ‘killing our communities’.

Amidst the tension, there are comedic elements in the play, especially in the dialogue between the brothers who switch between English and pidgin English. The predictability of the show, however, feels flat, and the lack of genuine build-up and chemistry between Aiden and Aman (who increasingly are developing feelings for one another) makes for lacklustre viewing, which is compounded by the frustrating lack of exploration about the sexual freedom Aman feels in the UK. As a result, the emotional impact of the play feels diminished, and rushed. 

Theatre503’s intimate setting nestled above a lively pub serves as the right choice for the play, which has a simple stage design of a circular raised disk on the floor and concrete walls. Sound design by Ajayi is effective and efficient as we switch between scenes. Mahad Ali makes a good effort in presenting a timely story — one which does not feel tokenistic and certainly feels relevant, but in this case, offers little in the way of novelty. 

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