Liberation Squares, Review
Reviewed by Emmie for Theatre and Tonic.
*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review
This play begins with two typical schoolgirls, Ruqaya and Sabi. They are on the cusp of transitioning to a new college and discussing how they can avoid the local bully on the school bus. However, once a social media influencer Xara enters the dynamic, an unlikely friendship is formed. They all have dreams; one wants to build a social media empire, or study astronomy, or to become a good rapper like Megan Thee Stallion. This group then undergoes a political awakening when they view themselves as targets of a government’s counter-terrorism strategy.
Soon the girls find themselves the target of the state surveillance ‘Prevent’ programme, they have to fight back. Liberation Squares will unearth what it takes for young Muslim women today to be the heroes of their own stories. At the heart of this play is a topic overwhelmingly political, the serious messages and themes we encounter are cleverly integrated into the 21st century modern world, hugely influenced by social media.
Undoubtedly, the work of fifth word is designed to provoke a strong reaction, and this play achieves precisely that within its 75-minute runtime. Vaneeka Dadhria, Asha Hassan, and Halema Hussain exert tremendous effort to swiftly immerse the audience in their characters' personas. The messages they convey are robust, yet extending the duration could potentially amplify their resonance even further. The most striking of all is how the ‘Prevent’ programme impacts on the Muslim community, the reality is breathtaking. There is some work needed and this production has so much opportunity to develop even further (which I would love to see!),
Whilst there is a hard hitting narrative, there is a beautiful blend of humour that enables some light relief for the audience. The addition of Vaneeka Dadhria’s beatboxing to build the soundscape of this production was a great tool to use and added so much atmosphere and dynamic to how this storyline flowed. There’s also some clever play with using the space and changing into different characters by applying lipstick. By also projecting live feeds from their mobile phones to the wall behind them, it emphasises the limited space the performers had to use.
Liberation Squares comes with huge potential to thrive once it’s developed further. This is definitely one to watch out for!
At Nottingham Playhouse until 27 April before a UK tour until 1 June.
★ ★ ★ ★
