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Speed
Holloway Theatre
A STAGGERING 1.5 million drivers attend retraining courses every year in the UK, making this widespread educational experience an ideal vehicle for dramatic exploration. Enter Mohamed-Zain Dada’s Speed, where three British-Pakistani motorists find themselves inducted into the DVLA’s new pilot scheme, the Rehabilitating and Unlearning National Driving Initiative or RUNDI for short.
Three drivers, all with nine points on their licence, find themselves in the volatile hands of facilitator Abz (Nikesh Patel). Faiza (Shazia Nicholls) is a well-to-do Surrey business lady; Samir (Arian Nik), a laddish delivery driver from H-Town (Harehills) in Leeds and Harleen (Sabrina Sandhu), a Brummie nurse whose heavy workload is taking its toll.
Things get off to a breakneck, hilarious start as the contrasting course mates are introduced to the personality awareness model, the Johari Window – definitely not “the Jihadi window” the spunky Samir deliberately mistakes it for. Abz struggles to keep things on the straight and narrow as the laughs continue to flow and tumbling revelations begin to take a darker edge.
A tale of resistance to last summer’s riots from Samir cuts through the laughter and begins to unpack the rage that Abz insists lies beneath their motoring transgressions.
Harleen, who oddly seems to fade into the background for long periods, also shares her daily pressures but Abz, consistently failing to read the room, continues to insist on summoning “the Blitz spirit and take that into your driving.”
Before long the trio turn on their beleaguered instructor and while what ensues temporarily enthrals it leaves little room for much character development and leaves you a little bewildered as the lights come up.
Milli Bhatia’s whizzing direction keeps attention from waning with Nik’s animated portrayal of Samir providing the pick of the performances but sadly Dada’s script feels too much like a roundabout to really take off.
Runs until May 17. Tickets: bushtheatre.co.uk/event/speed. Box Office: 020 8743 5050.
