Writer: Atiha Sen Gupta
Director: Adam Karim
Atiha Sen Gupta’s 2009 What Fatima Did… makes a mostly triumphant return to the stage. Fatima, a wild child in a friend group in London, comes back from the summer wearing a hijab. Chaos ensues as her friends try, with varying degrees of success, to come to terms with her decision.
While San Gupta has updated the script for this adaptation, collaborating with Tara Theatre’s Young Company, it is still set in the noughties, and the outfits, the music and even the Facebook relationship statuses are all still present, giving the production a fantastically nostalgic air. What Fatima Did…, which explores religious and cultural discrimination in Central London, still feels painfully topical. Considering it was written in the wake of a controversial US war in the Gulf, that is not hugely surprising.
While the very green cast of actors at times look like deer in theatrical headlights, unsurprisingly, as this is most of the performers’ first professional gig, the excellence of the writing pulls the play through. Former National Theatre resident director Adam Karim takes the reins for this adaptation. Tahir Hassan shines as Mohammed, and Kent Okwesa and Amaka Whitney are both convincing and entertaining as Craig and Stacey, respectively.
The setting is minimal. The audience arrives to a very 2009 soundtrack (Low by Flo Rida, to name but one absolute banger). The actors perform under an Ian Paisley-esque Union flag, but otherwise, there is little to distract. The power is in the words, and they do not try to divert the audience.
The audience is much younger and of a more mixed demographic than one would usually see on or off the West End: unsurprisingly, considering the production company and the play, but still nice to see evidence that promoting theatre to the youth is no bad thing. Often, political plays feel somewhat forced, but What Fatima Did… explores the nuance of nationality, culture and religion brilliantly. While the production has its limitations, Sen Gupta’s play is criminally underrated as a zeitgeist of London culture.
Runs until 18 April 2026
