Writer: Mahad Ali
Director: Robert Awosusi
Writer Mahad Ali’s debut play sees two Nigerian refugees, 21-year-old Hassan and his younger brother Aman, placed in Margate while their application is processed. At any time their presence would be resisted by some of the local residents, but this is the run-up to the 2015 general election, and right-wing organisations such as UKIP are making their nationalist presence felt.
Actors Tito Williams and Tapiwa Mugweni display the contrasting nature of the siblings nicely. Williams’s Hassan is passionate about earning enough to send home to his wife and young son, increasingly frustrated that he is not legally allowed to work. Mugweni’s easygoing, live-in-the-moment attitude rubs his brother up the wrong way even as they look out for each other, and attracts the attention of Aidan (Oscar Adams), son of the owner of the hotel in which the brothers are staying.
The growing relationship between the two lads is the sweetest and most engaging core of Ali’s work. Mugweni possesses the sort of charismatic ebullience that would have chemistry with a rock, but it is reciprocated by Adams (in his first professional role) with a romantic hesitancy that is charmingly alluring.
Elsewhere, Aidan’s father Bill (Philip Wright) slowly warms to the idea of housing a couple of refugees in his hotel and develops limited respect for Hassan through a shared passion for long-distance running. He also has to contend with the increasing militancy of his best friend Linton (Peter Eastland) as the latter progresses from a community-spirited individual to a full-on racist firebrand, via online conspiracy theories.
Ali’s decision to frame this story in a pre-Brexit political climate takes away some of the urgency that could otherwise charge this piece: while all the tensions he portrays were part of 2015 life to be sure, it feels like they are more amplified and urgent now. It might be justifiable if Linton’s aspirations to stand as a local MP had greater emotional traction, but as a character, Linton is never more than two-dimensional and obvious. However, the portrayal of two lifelong friends slowly drifting apart due to one’s radicalisation has some nice observational touches.
Sadly, obviousness is not limited to this one aspect. My Brother’s Keeper feels as if it progresses with predictable certainty. Coupled with leaden-paced direction by Robert Awosusi, it feels as if it takes an age to say very little new at all.
Continues until 4 March 2023
