EDINBURGH 2025: BECAUSE Q&A

BWW catches up with Hassan Govia to chat about bringing Because to the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Because.

'Because' hones in on the life of Jade, a British Caribbean male in his thirties living somewhat aimlessly, routinely engaging in dialogue with his inner voice. The play is framed around the conversations he has with himself, which takes a turn (maybe for the worst, maybe not) when he finds out some shocking, unsettling news about another Jade, an overachieving female who he used to attend secondary school with. Ultimately, we see the fallout of a grown man being forced to truly find and confront the parts of himself he has not been willing to address, and whose trajectory has been largely affected by upsetting childhood experiences.

Why did you feel it was important to tell this story?

I believe lots of people talk to themselves, and it can certainly be a healthy way of navigating our thoughts and feelings. However, there is also a point when it becomes concerning, and I became interested in assessing this blurred line when interrogating what this play could be and the story it had the potential to tell. Furthermore, as someone who has never been diagnosed with a mental health condition but has definitely had struggles with mental health, I thought it would be powerful and enlightening to forge a narrative from the perspective of someone navigating these challenges unknowingly as that's not an angle I often see taken by mental health plays.

Jade is unlike any character I've seen presented on stage, particularly in relation to other Black British male characters in theatre, and amplifying a voice like his could be crucial in adding more nuance to the discourse surrounding this. Frankly speaking, I also find myself feeling frustrated at presentations of those suffering from mental health breaks where the result often lends itself to extreme behaviour - i.e. being highly sexed, engaging with drugs etc. Not that these experiences are not valid or truthful, but I don't think they are true for everybody, and there is room for more exploration around how things like arrested development can stem from feeling stifled by mental health issues and trauma, even with those who may not appear to be struggling on the surface.

What was the inspiration behind writing it?

Interestingly, the process of conceptualising 'Because' did not start with a pointed intention to address the themes that the play engages with - I was simply trying to craft a solo show that did not rely on an actor narrating a story to the audience! However, once I started to play around with the possibility of seeing a character speak out loud to his inner voice, that's when the mental health angle started to take shape. I have also wanted to theatrically explore personal issues that I have experienced but felt conflicted to allow myself to be vulnerable about and address openly, including bullying, and thought this might be the right project to do that with.

I also have a fascination with the battles we have with ourselves, and the dramatic potential of exploring what would happen when an internal struggle manifests into an external one. I think the film 'BLACK SWAN' is a great example of this, and a reference that the play has definitely taken inspiration from. In fact, I have been categorising 'Because' as 'For Black Boys...' meets 'BLACK SWAN', which I think is fitting.

How has the show been received so far?

We have had very strong audience feedback and reviews from our showings at the Camden Fringe last year, with FringeReview rating the piece as 'Groundbreaking Work'. We also had the opportunity to speak about the show with Paul Levy from FringeReview after our Brighton previews, who said he was "speechless" after watching. Don't believe me? https://fringereview.co.uk/audio-interviews/general/2025/solo-theatre-focus-hassan-govia-on-because/

What would you like audiences to take away from it?

As serious as the subject matters are, the aim of 'Because' is not to harangue an audience with heavy-hitting lessons per se. More than anything I would like for audiences to fully succumb to the show as a piece of drama and engage with whatever conversation starters may organically come to them as a result. For me, it's all about the story, and any (educational) insight that can be taken from theatre (or any other medium of storytelling) should be a by-product of a well told story. Fingers crossed our show delivers in that way.

Photo credit: Guy J Sanders

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