Writer and Director: Kumar Muniandy
Kumar Muniandy’s semi-autobiographical play begins with a dance so startlingly lit that all we see is the figure’s silhouette upon the stage. It’s impossible to tell if the swirling shadow is happy. We must guess that he is. But then, as he drops to the floor, a redacted newspaper article is projected on screen, its information reporting a homophobic murder of a young boy in Malaysia.
Muniandy’s other character is Krishna, who takes up the rest of the narrative, is a queer Malaysian who now lives in Berlin. With homosexuality illegal in his home country, it’s no wonder he’s moved to Germany. But perhaps all is not well as Krishna, jobless and partnerless, participates in speed-dating. As he sits at one edge of the stage, voice-overs take the place of the men he’s meeting for five minutes at a time.
Most of the men he meets are awful. Michael from Kent can’t seem to understand that India and Malaysia are different countries, while Dieter claims that racism against white people does actually exist and then remarks that he doesn’t see colour. One white man, versed in Yoga, asks Khrisna for his “spiritual name”. We feel for Krishna as he squirms in his seat.
But it’s not only the men he meets who are insensitive. Krishna suggests to one man that he lose weight if he wants to be happy, presumes all German men are tall and smooth, and when quizzing another man, Krishna seems to have the blurriest ideas of nursing. Muniandy’s theatrical device is a neat, but old-fashioned – does anyone go speed dating anymore? – way of demonstrating the gulfs between us all.
Perhaps there is an over-reliance on voice-overs in this 60-minute piece, but for the most part, the recordings are clear. And for a play about redemption and self-forgiveness, it is a little surprising that he finds resolution by listening to the advice of one man rather than discovering it within himself. The instructions he’s given make this play feel slightly didactic.
Muniandy is a warm and confident performer, and the story that he tells is tragic. We see two worlds here: a lonely Berlin and a Malaysia where love still dares not speak its name.
Runs until 1 August 2025 and then at Edinburgh Fringe
Camden Fringe runs until 24 August 2025
