Bhaijaan – The Hope Theatre, London

Writer: Abir Mohammad

Director: Samir Mahat

Teenagers on the verge of adulthood and seeking to escape their current life are a fertile ground for playwriting. Less frequent is the world of wrestling.

In Abir Mohammad’s Bhaijaan, best friends Khafi (Michael Macleod) and Zain (Kashif Ghole) are both obsessed with WWE-style wrestling, but not just as spectators. They are preparing to apply for a local wrestling club, even though the tryouts coincide with their school exams.

The differences between the two boys are familiar ones. Zain is the cocky, jovial one who doesn’t do well in lessons; the more academically minded Khafi is quieter and more serious.

The fight choreography, especially given the Hope’s small space, is exceptional as the pair rehearse their moves. Whether fighting each other’s characters or posing as the other boy’s literal demon, Macleod and Ghole go hell for leather, enormously elevating the fight sequences.

But the real meat and the tension come through dialogue, as each boy eventually opens up about real-life violence they are experiencing within their own families. It becomes clear that both young men are growing up in an environment where physical and even sexual abuse is taking its toll.

Mohammad’s script occasionally veers toward the obvious, with Zain vulnerable to the same sort of toxic masculinity online that he is being exposed to at home. But the eventual willingness of the two lads to lean on each other’s friendship and reveal the nature of the demons haunting them is sweet to see. Ghole allows the facade of his happy-go-lucky teen to slip at vital moments, revealing the scared and vulnerable boy within.

Macleod has an even more significant challenge in portraying someone who is not only tormented by his brother’s actions towards him but also his parents’ refusal to acknowledge, much less take action on, his trauma. Here, Mohammad’s writing feels at its shakiest, occasionally evading the sense of truth that Macleod is searching for.

But regardless of the play’s struggle to effectively encapsulate its themes, one thing it successfully captures is two male friends who, unlike their families or what they see online, are unafraid to tell each other they love them. As a celebration of what is possible when masculinity escapes the toxicity that all too often comes with it, Bhaijaan achieves what it sets out to do.

Continues until 1 February 2025