Writer: Mohamedally Hashemi
Director: Hamza Ali
The world of couture designer fashion is the backdrop for Mohameddaly Hashemi’s Where There is No Time.
The writer plays Yusuf, an independent designer whose collections have traditionally had a political tone and have never been delivered on time for the major fashion weeks. With his business facing bankruptcy, he has partnered with Milly Zero’s Suzann, who has ambitions to get the designer onto a more commercial tack. Yusuf’s childhood friend and favoured runway model, Nina (Kerena Jagpal), has a history of antagonism with Suzann, which deepens as she attempts to persuade Yusuf to stay true to his ideals.
Between the two strong-willed women, Hashemi’s Yusuf seems to be a much more passive soul, more content to spend time designing and constructing garments than making any decisions. His passivity allows for the women’s power dynamic to be foregrounded. Zero brings an air of cattiness and smarm, tempered by a sly twinkle, infusing her character with a charm that could easily be missing.
Beside her, Jagpal provides the greater range, going from defensive (Suzann has been vocally critical of Nina’s walk) to aggressively determined as she attempts to resist Suzann’s ideas for her friend’s career. Hashemi fades into the background in their confrontational scenes, except for a climax in which he finally asserts himself. After that, he sits on stage with his back to the audience, further highlighting how his character is essentially a catalyst for the women’s conflict rather than a character in his own right.
There is a fourth character of sorts, a dress designed by Yusuf’s mother that Nina describes as a “dress of faith”. Scripted as the inspiration for Yusuf’s whole collection and something so beautiful that it eclipses everything the designer does, a fringe budget cannot really fulfil such promise. Instead, the dress’s symbolism and its ties to Yusuf’s Yemeni-Iranian heritage must remain largely in our imaginations.
And while Hashemi’s talk of his heritage and of how his parents met and how that inspires him is interesting and evocative, it becomes overshadowed by the dynamic between the women who represent the two competing halves of his life. Just as the women’s clashes overpower Yusuf, so too do they upset the balance of the whole play. Where There is No Time feels like it has more to say about the importance of maintaining one’s heritage when commercial pressures push in the other direction, but the main memory it leaves one with is that high fashion is full of little else but pure melodrama.
Runs until 28 March 2026
