Review: A SMALL AND QUIET LIGHT, Orange Tree Theatre

I suspect like most people, you have never come across the name of Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan before. With an Indian father and an American mother, she was born in Moscow, moving to France as a baby. She ended up becoming a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent in Nazi-occupied Paris and was the first woman to be parachuted into France to provide radio communication vital to the Resistance. The average life-span of such operators was just six weeks, but after providing many months of essential support, she was captured and executed at Dachau and posthumously awarded the George Cross. Stephanie Street's a small and quiet light attempts to unpick her extraordinary story.

I use the word attempts because, despite having such a rich source to draw upon, Street's script never feels like it gets to the heart of Noor or her story. The narrative ricochets between different timelines, beginning with her interrogation by the Nazis in 1943, then shuttling back and forth across the years, going from her childhood to her untimely death in a concentration camp. The issue is that the script never fully explores what happened in each location. Despite the use of text projections stating dates and locations, it is sometimes hard to pin down the narrative arc, which lessens the dramatic impact. Noor's story ends in a devastating manner, but the production lacks enough punch to convey it. 

This disconnect is enhanced by the multi-roling in the all-female cast. Actors play up to four roles each, some of whom could have been left out entirely, without impacting the story. Priyanga Burford (who is also consultant producer) is on stage throughout as Khan. She portrays an unassuming young girl, quiet and wildly intelligent, with what must have been a steely bravery beneath. We learn of her strong moral compass and her loyalty to Britain, along with her love for her family and desire to contribute to the war effort. Her vehement dismissal of her brother's suggestion that she become a nurse is a tantilising hint at some fire under the calm veneer, but this is never expanded upon.  

Caoilfhionn Dunne’s interrogator Vogt is given the 'good Nazi' treament, lacking in authority and any real menace. This gives the opportunity for Noor to develop a relationship with her captor, but sacrifices dramatic edge. Amanda Hadingue is convincing as Vera Atkins, the Deputy Director of the F section of SOE who picks out Noor to serve. Tripti Tripuraneni is amiable and very believable as Noor's brother Bhai. 

After a summer run at Chichester, the production is compacted into the Orange Tree space. Anna Yates's stripped back set features an abstractly painted coloured floor, surrounding a sunken mesh square and a couple of benches. There is a continued use of Debussy's "Clair de Lune", played hauntingly by Kiah Arya on a small upright piano in the corner of the theatre. Nicola T. Chang's compositions come to the fore as the interrogations take a more nasty turn, with discordant sounds and echoes.

This is not the first attempt to dramatise Noor's extraordinary life – a production ran at Southwark Playhouse back in 2022. a small and quiet light is a fictionalised account of her life, based on archives and records. there is no doubt that it's an incredible story, but it is frustrating to leave the theatre feeling as though only the surface of her life and character has been scratched.

Read our Guest Post from writer Stephanie Street about the show here.

a small and quiet light is at the Orange Tree Theatre until 21 October

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