Sisters360 at Leeds Playhouse Review

Reviews

9 May

Written by Joseph for Theatre and Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review

Sisters360 is a heartfelt story about 2 sisters, Fatima (Sara Abanur) and Salima (Farah Ashraf), who are 10 and have dreams of becoming skateboarding champions just like their hero Hope Black (a nod to real-life skateboarding Olympian Skye Brown).

They are from Bradford, and it definitely has a sense of place. Being a proud Bradford lad myself, there is something unique and almost intangible about Bradford-based theatre. It has a voice that is different from all the others.

As performers they capture the essence of what it means to be that age well, with lots of energy and a great sense of pace and rhythm in addition to an obsession with the word “poo”. A lot of the dialogue rattled on at a pace, but it also felt natural. Sara Abanur as Fatima was boisterous and fun, and seemed to be having a blast. Farah Ashraf as Salima provided a pleasant contrast, being quieter and more focused on her goals. When conflict arose, their performance was well gauged, sounding exactly how 10-year-olds fight.

The piece was split into sections with choreographed movement to delineate between them and where time has passed. The movement that expressed their skateboarding was simple and effective. The set included two balance boards to mimic skateboards, which I thought was a nice touch as it gave a flavour of what it would look like.

I enjoyed the addition of puppetry, which was done in a cute way. Though I must admit that, other than as a deus ex machina for the finale, I wasn’t entirely sure what the purpose of the bats was, but I enjoyed the way they were presented.

As previously stated, the writing from Asif Khan was fast-paced but not rushed. The trick to avoid with this is not just “doing the lines quicker” it’s the gaps in between the lines that need to be shortened, and both performers did very well with this. The addition of a remote-controlled cast member was also a highlight.

In conclusion, Sisters360 is a joyous, unique look at a subculture rarely investigated in theatre, within a culture that’s also underrepresented in theatre and does a great job at showcasing both, proving that we should have more diverse theatre shows. I hope this paves the way for even more “Somalistani” based theatre, and I look forward to seeing it.