Azan Ahmed’s new play, Statues, is set in the Britain of both now and the mid-1990s, as Yusuf (Ahmed) makes a discovery while packing up his late father’s belongings.
Statues is about grief, language, communication, family, and music. With a two-person cast (Jonny Khan plays two pivotal roles in the play), it is an intimate and profound piece of theatre.
Yusuf is a teacher, just starting as Head of English in a school that treats its Muslim pupils as problematic. The government has launched Prevent in the education sector, requiring staff to watch for any signs (actual or potential) of radicalisation.
While at home Yusuf marvels at his father’s past as rapper Double MC, and his freedom with words, trying to reconcile it with his silence and inertia in later life, at school he is challenged by a bright and inquisitive Muslim boy, Khalif (Khan).
As a white audience member, I was intrigued and shocked by some of the text (why do we teach in history that black equals barbaric, and rarely question it, why is it we can say some words that cause concern when spoken by those with a different shade of skin).
Some themes are universal to all in Statues. The grief of losing a father will resonate with many of us, and one passage was difficult for me for that reason. Finding out who a parent really was after they had gone is also very common.
For Yusuf, listening to Double MC’s tracks at home (allowing a comic bit on how to load a cassette tape) and teaching Hamlet at work, the world as he understands it is revealed to be unjust and freedom a fallacy.
Watching Ahmed and Khan perform as young rappers, with Hamza Ali’s movement direction and Holly Khan’s sound design and compositions, there is a sense of joy as they express themselves, their surroundings and situations.
At school, the atmosphere is tighter, tenser, traditional. Young Khalif is a thinker who, at 17, is pushing against the boundaries that constrain him. He wears political badges and openly uses language, which can be dangerous.
Esme Allman’s direction, Cara Evans’s set and costumes, and Rachel Sampley’s lighting amplify the text, simplifying the stage directions as written, adding a modern, clean look. We are in a flat, a school, a mosque, even a son’s head.
There’s a lot to say in this 80-minute piece, and Ahmed is a skilled writer of both street speak and formal language. Double MC and Omar, Yusuf and Khalif, even Aunty Dolly (whose own story of how she assumed her name is a familiar tale) are characters that spring from the page.
Statues is an accomplished and intoxicating play, using language to push against our bias and open up our understanding. Urdu words are freely used and rarely defined. Little nuggets highlight moments of disrespect and unkindness.
As an actor, Ahmed conveys a range of emotions without ever feeling false, showing a confident interpretation of his own material. Khan is also excellent as the teenager consumed with curiosity.
****
You can watch Statues at the Bush Theatre’s Studio until 9 November with tickets here.
Image credit: Harry Elletson Photography