The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2025 - Issue 37

bitetheatre THEATRE REVIEW I have always regarded Bush The- atre in Shepherd’s Bush for its ability to showcase contemporary, relevantly diverse, and ground-break- ing productions. So, when I spotted the Speed play by Olivier Award-nominat- ed writer Mohamed-Zain Dada and director Milli Bhatia, I was intrigued and excited. It’s billed as a play ‘where three speedsters are summoned to his class with a choice: change your ways or lose your licence’. However, a routine training course quickly veers into a tu- multuous group therapy session forced to confront the fundamental question of their anger. My previous experiences with Asian contemporary writers have left me reflective, constantly memo- ry-recalling scenes from their plays. Before the actors entered the stage, I contemplated the stark props of three conference chairs, a flipchart board and a simulated fish tank on the wall behind the board. On the opposite side of the stage was a six-seater round table cov- ered in white cloth, and behind that, a vending machine next to the closed shutters of a kitchenette. The play scenes occur in this setting, but while our imaginations are piqued as we hear more from each character, it does not detract from the play’s presentation. The three characters, a man and two women wearing ordinary day clothes sit on the randomly placed conference chairs facing a fourth character dressed in a high-street suit, obviously their fa- cilitator. He introduces himself as Abz, a road safety expert, played by Nikesh Patel. The attendees are Faiza an en- trepreneur, played by Shazia Nicholls; Harleen, a nurse, played by Sabrina Sandhu; and Samir, a delivery driver, played by Arian Nik, each hailing from various non-London areas of the UK. Their humorous introductions reflect their personalities, so we shouldn’t feel guilty making judgments. Faiza is high- strung and takes every opportunity to self-promote herself, disillusioned to a laughable degree, giving an aloof im- SPEED L-R Arian Nik (Samir), Sabrina Sandhu (Harleen), Nikesh Patel (Abz), Shazia Nicholls (Faiza) Images courtesy of Richard Lakos