Review: PASSING, Park Theatre

Generational inheritance is the central question beating at the heart of Dan Sareen’s cosy domestic drama Passing. Rachel is the mixed-race daughter of Yash, who was born in India before coming to the UK as a boy, and white mother Ruth. She has assembled her secular family for their first Diwali festival as her paternal grandfather’s health declines. It’s not just his passing she fears, but the passing of an opportunity to cling onto her culture.

Her resentment at her father’s relinquishing of India gently bubbles as the family gather in their lounge. She doesn’t know who she is, unanchored by culture. She looks to YouTube for guidance on how to wear a sari, not to her parents.

But Sareen deftly gives weight to Yash’s perspective. His bubbly exuberance masks alienation that he wishes to bury. Although Rachel chides him for preferring The Beatles to Bollywood musical soundtracks, brief snippets of his uncomfortable childhood hint at profound inner conflict. We are never told explicitly but we suspect his need to assimilate stems from boyhood trauma.

Awkward small talk and a disastrous round of Cluedo morph into a generational clash posing pressing questions about cultural inheritance in Britian. The weight of family and tradition versus the need to integrate. There are distinctive echoes of East is East, but with the added lens of a modern sensibility and awareness of ethnicity and culture.

Sareen’s writing excels in questioning Rachel’s, and by proxy her generation’s, indignation is justified. Passing could easily turn into a finger wagging polemical chiding a generation of immigrants for turning their back on the culture of their homeland but the play’s strength lies in its confident curiosity and big-hearted generosity to both perspectives.

It doesn’t always work. Bogged down in the minutiae of the family dynamics, the often baggy discussions and bickering lend the play a deal of realism but at the cost of uneven pacing issues. At over two hours a streamlined script would shine a brighter light on the play’s bigger themes. The focus is there, just sometimes without the polish.

But strong performances secure the production a poignant richness. Amy-Leigh Hickman plays Rachel with a mellowed weight and an unignorable tinge of weariness in her voice. We can feel her tension, tired of the burden of uncertainty, longing to find stability within herself. Home is where the heart is. But where is home?  

Kishore Walker’s David, her stroppy brother, is a fascinating counterpoint. Armed with a slew of deadpan jabs snarkily delivered, he is the stoic middle ground between his father and sister. At ease with his biracial identity, he reminds us that spiritual reconciliation can be achieved, even if concrete answers about culture and identity remain elusive.

Passing plays at the Park Theatre until 25 November

Photo Credit: Matt Martin

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