MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
Latest editorial
Stuck on a roundabout
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
(L to R) Arian Nik as Samir, Shazia Nicholls as Faiza) Sabrina Sandhu as Harleen
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
Speed
Holloway Theatre
A STAGGERING 1.5 million drivers attend retraining courses every year in the UK, making this widespread educational experience an ideal vehicle for dramatic exploration. Enter Mohamed-Zain Dada’s Speed, where three British-Pakistani motorists find themselves inducted into the DVLA’s new pilot scheme, the Rehabilitating and Unlearning National Driving Initiative or RUNDI for short.
Three drivers, all with nine points on their licence, find themselves in the volatile hands of facilitator Abz (Nikesh Patel). Faiza (Shazia Nicholls) is a well-to-do Surrey business lady; Samir (Arian Nik), a laddish delivery driver from H-Town (Harehills) in Leeds and Harleen (Sabrina Sandhu), a Brummie nurse whose heavy workload is taking its toll.
Things get off to a breakneck, hilarious start as the contrasting course mates are introduced to the personality awareness model, the Johari Window – definitely not “the Jihadi window” the spunky Samir deliberately mistakes it for. Abz struggles to keep things on the straight and narrow as the laughs continue to flow and tumbling revelations begin to take a darker edge.
More from this author
MAYER WAKEFIELD wonders why this 1978 drama merits a revival despite demonstrating that the underlying theme of racism in the UK remains relevant
MAYER WAKEFIELD speaks to playwright Richard Bean about his new play Reykjavik that depicts the exploitation of the Hull-based “far-fleet” trawlermen
MAYER WAKEFIELD finds himself caught in the crossfire during a riveting piece of activist theatre
MAYER WAKEFIELD falls in love with a deft and hilarious portrait of Cairo after the Arab Spring
