Review: SPEED, Bush Theatre

With so much potential material to explore, it is incredible that until now, a play has not been written about speed-awareness courses. Following the success of the Olivier-nominated Blue Mist, writer Mohamed-Zain Dada and director Milli Bhatia come to the Bush Theatre with their darkly amusing new production Speed.

Speed awareness and racial profiling are not topics you would automatically connect , but Dada's new play combines the two themes. Three people are attending such a course as they are about to lose their driving licenses. They have been specifically picked as they have displayed anger at the time of their offence as well. What emerges is somewhat darker-that they have been selected for the course as they are all Asian, and fit a racial profile. The course is supposed to challenge them to recognise how they are perceived by other drivers and how they can control their anger to become safer drivers.

The cast of four is a strong unit, with great fluidity and naturalism. As course leader Abz, Nikesh Patel exudes righteous energy and a didactic insistence that he wants to help the group and save lives in the process. We quickly come to see that this is a front that Abz is hiding a dark secret behind. Patel shows this not-so-gradual descent into crisis well, with good intentions motivating his increasingly bizarre behaviour as he gradually loses control.

As harried Brummie nurse Harleen, Sabrina Sandhu is reluctant to engage, showing a seemingly calm exterior hiding flashes of anger. Arian Nik is very warm and likable as delivery driver Samir, covertly vaping and trying to flirt with Harleen during sessions. Nik shows real skill in portraying this laid-back and unengaged man, who ends up relating a deeply disturbing racial event to the group.

Shazia Nicholls is very funny as entrepreneur Fazia, resolutely blind to her own sense of self-importance. When asked about her heritage, she is insistent that she comes from St Albans and is flattered when she is told she doesn't look Pakistani. Nicholls' comic delivery is a standout.

The fact that each character is from a different part of the country is important in conveying the message that racial sterotypes about Asian drivers perpertuate all over England. Samir certainly fits the preconception of a 'boy racer', already well known to the police and proud of the modifications to his car. The script misses touching upon prejudice against female drivers for their sex, turning more towards a questioning of why society as a whole is so angry. 

Tomás Palmer's set design is the perfect representation of corporate hotel blandness. An almost empty vending machine stands in one corner, a flipchart in the other, with a round table and flimsy chairs familiar to anyone who has been to a low budget hotel chain.

There is a lot of potential in the production. The script is sharp and funny, the chemistry between the characters is palpable and the themes intriguing, but an almost farcical descent into chaos and a highly unlikely conclusion takes away from the audience fully believing in the production. 

Speed runs at the Bush Theatre until 17 May

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