Whose country is it?  A new play is a debate about British Islam.


Robert Tanitch reviews Multitudes at Tricycle Theatre, London NW6

John Hollingworth writes about multiculturalism in Britain today. The play is set in Bradford during a Conservative Party Conference.

Indhu Rubasingham, artistic director of the Tricycle, says she hopes Multitudes will provoke dialogue and discussion.

When was the last time you saw the word “Muslim” without the word “fanatic”, “extremist”, “radical” next to it?

Robert Tanitch logoLocal Muslim Councillor (Navin Chowdhry) wants to be an MP but he is having problems with his partner (Clare Calbraith), who has converted to Islam without telling him, and he is also having problems with his daughter, by his first marriage, who has decided to become a terrorist.

His partner’s mother (Jaqueline King), who is on the council, is an alcoholic and a racist; she’s a richly comic bigot, though not everybody will be laughing.

Meanwhile a woman’s peace group is staging an anti-war sit-in in the main square. So things are difficult.

The play is very bitty and the actors shout far too much. They never stop shouting. It’s tiresome. The pertinent and urgent subject matter would work better on television as a documentary.
