by Zahid Fayyaz

At the west London’s prestigious new writing venue comes the world premiere of Azan Ahmed’s latest play, a two-hander in the theatre’s intimate studio space. Running for a tight 70 minutes, the story is about teacher Yusuf, played by Ahmed himself. He is going through his recently deceased’s father’s things, and finds some old tapes which reveal that he used to be a rapper. Listening to the tapes, he begins to understand more about his father, whilst also going through the process of grieving a man who was a ‘statue’ in front of the TV for most of his life.

The play is very well-written and acted, with real feeling and heart in the dialogue and performance. The subplot tracing Yusuf’s new job as head of English dovetails into the main story of him grieving his father, when he over-reacts to a student, Khalil, calling Hamlet a radical. Khalil is played by Jonny Khan as intelligent but wary, and it’s a wonderfully empathetic performance overall.

The best parts of the show, when it really comes alive, are the rap and spoken word scenes. The language is vibrant and the crowd are fully drawn into the world of the play. Although there are a few plot holes in the narrative and timeline of events, these are minor issues in what is an impressive new play. This is a production worth catching while its on, and marks Azan Ahmed as a name for the future. I will certainly be interested in catching whatever he decides to do next.

Statues runs through 9 November.

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