SWEET CIDER. To 15 November.

London.

SWEET CIDER
by Emteaz Hussain.

Arcola Theatre (Arcola 1) 27 Arcola street E8 2DJ To 15 November 2008.
Mon-Sat 8pm.
Runs 1hr 15min No interval.

TICKETS: 020 7503 1646.
www.arcolathbeatre.com
Review: Timothy Ramsden 27 October.

Progress in a park sympathetically portrayed.
What a contrast at the Arcola. Downstairs Howard Barker rages, while the large main space is spread with the urban park locations of Emteaz Hussain’s sweeter play. Though the title, referring to the apparent freedom growing-up brings, is ironic for the British Asians pulled at by families, living in a refuge or seeking love across a divide, this writer cares for her characters.

Including the older Rabia, her name recalling an 8th-century Sufi mystic. She’s fairly mysterious herself, apparently living in a park (watching a battery-operated TV?), eventually soothing the increasingly unsettled Nosheen’s final crisis.

Young people here seek a sense of belonging, something that’s turned sour in their families, where parents want their children back. Relationships with each other can bring problems too. Hussain’s script vividly marks out the dilemmas in sympathetic, clearly and movingly written dialogue. It’s intriguing to see which concerns might preoccupy any western youngster, which are more specific to young British Asians - principally dreamy, then rudely awakened Tazeem and more perceptive, yet ultimately angry Nosheen.

All is well supported by Kristine Landon-Smith’s production for Tamasha theatre, whose Developing Artists programme has guided the play to the Arcola stage - used cunningly by Sue Mayes’ set to unify short, separate scenes among benches, slide, swings and roundabout, all backed by photo-sections of a northern town.

The roundabout’s where the young repeatedly reflect on their predicaments, its idling or steady circling providing a poetic intensity to words and silences alike. The ten-strong cast (unusually extensive for a new writer, though some older characters are mainly plot necessities) give an unforced conviction to these lives, be it Sudha Buchar’s Rabia existing more between the scenes than within (Jim Cartwright’s Road with its narrator-resident Scullery was an influence), Hamza Jetoaa as sexually arrogant Aki, Thomas Morrison as the more sincere, sexually varied Steve or Rajneet Sidhu and Stephanie Street in the two pivotal roles.

There may be more to dramatic structure and character development than is on show here, but Hussain's strong interest in character and expressive dialogue take this some way beyond the standard ‘issues’ play.

Fiaz: Shammi Aulakh.
Rabia: Sudha Bhuchar.
Masi: Taru Devani.
Aki: Hamza Jeetooa.
Steve: Thomas Morrison.
Jasvinder: Aria Prasad.
Amir: Sagar Radia.
Mahmood: Rehan Sheikh.
Tazeem: Rajneet Sidhu.
Nosheen: Stephanie Street.

Director: Kristine Landon-Smith.
Designer: Sue Mayes.
Lighting: Natasha Chivers.
Sound: Mike Furness.
Dialect coach: Ailsa Gudgeon.
Song: Felix Cross.
Dramaturg: Philip Osment.

2008-10-29 02:03:26