Pleasance Theatre 2 – 21 May. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
Becoming Mohammed is a little gem of a play, tackling tricky issues with humour and integrity.
Tom (Jack Hammett) has converted to Islam and is soon to marry Aminah (Nadia Lamin). When his sister Sarah (Philippa Carson) turns up on his doorstep after 2 years, Tom just can’t find the right moment to tell her his news. Only after trying to force sausage rolls upon him does Sarah guess that he has become a Muslim. Her shock and bemusement at his choices is portrayed beautifully, with Sarah even wondering why he didn’t choose Scientology instead.
This subject could have been approached in a well-meant, po-faced manner, but writer Claudia Marinaro has based the play on director Annemiek van Elst’s own family’s experience when her brother converted to Islam, and it is full of great jokes, authentic sibling dynamics, and most importantly, love.
Tom, who changes his name to Mohammed during the play, is full of puppyish enthusiasm about his new life, but Sarah has seen his teenage fads come and go and is convinced that this is just another fleeting interest at first. Her own need to cling onto the past, rooting through boxes of memories and junk that their mother left them, makes her incredulity that Tom has moved on to a new life even more painful. As most siblings do, when they disagree, Tom and Sarah revert to toddler tantrums and neither will back down. These arguments are fantastic – petty, childish and instantly recognisable.
It is down to the thoroughly modern Aminah to sort out the warring pair. When Sarah rails about the sexism of praying separately, Aminah just calmly tells her that you need to choose your battles. Aminah and her brother Musa’s (Jonah Fazel) moderate approach to life is in stark contrast to Tom’s idealistic naivety. Musa and Aminah’s reactions to eggs and rocks thrown at the mosque is conciliatory, while Tom wants to retaliate. He begins a one-man mission to build bridges between the Muslim and surrounding communities without thinking through the consequences for Aminah and himself. The pragmatic Musa deals with the issue, choosing to risk his relationship with his sister rather than risking her safety. This gives Musa a bit of weight as a character, as he comes across as a sweeter, Muslim version of David Brent at times.
The discrimination and suspicion that Muslims face is laid bare in the second act, but Marinaro’s Muslim characters shrug off these situations and accept them as a fact of modern Western life. There are some extremely emotional and excruciatingly honest questions asked, and Marinaro doesn’t try to answer them, instead showing what can be achieved through mutual understanding and acceptance.
The set design and lighting are crisp and clean, with some fantastic pieces of nostalgia hiding in the plastic boxes lining the room. The cast are fantastic – Jack Hammett is full of energy and enthusiasm as Tom, and his petulant reactions to Sarah are very funny. Philippa Carson has some hysterical moments during their arguments, and keeps Sarah believable and vulnerable. Jonah Fazel’s light touch keeps Musa loveable, and Nadia Lamin shines as Aminah, giving her a feisty strength – she may wear a hijab, but the men can’t walk over her.
I really didn’t expect to be laughing so much about this subject matter, but this has obviously been a labour of love for Marinaro and van Elst, and the warmth and hope fills the theatre. Becoming Mohammed is a fantastic production that NEEDS to be seen by a wider audience.