‘A British Subject’, which premiered in New York as part of Brits Off Broadway Festival at 59E59 Theater, is a true life story which takes you into the chaos of Pakistan, inside a prison where Mirza Tahir Husain, a British subject of Pakistani descent is being held for the murder of a Pathan taxi driver. He was only 18 when he visited Pakistan to see his grandmother and has already spent 18 years waiting on Death Row for something done in self defense. He is sentenced to be hanged, and Don Mackay, a reporter from The Daily Mirror is the only Western journalist to visit him, and try to save him from the gallows.
In this strong drama you see the intersection of politics, religion, corruption, and how the little guy is sucked into the games powerful people play. ‘A British Subject’ transports you to far away places – with a bare stage, four actors, a judicious use of sound, effective words and little else.
“That mass of humanity was like a single organism with not the space of a fag paper between each person,” says Mackay in one of the strong scenes, describing the crowds swarming outside the Pakistan prison: “The sweat of one face was wiped onto the skin of another. The air they breathed had passed through countless lungs before theirs.”
The strong script takes you from London to Pakistan – and you see the potholes, feel the heat and desperation, and sounds metamorphose into frenetic, imaginary pictures. The sounds of traffic, sirens, chanting of Hail Mary’s and Islamic prayers, echoes, distortions, clanging doors – even chilling silence – all bring the turmoil up-close.
There are effective performances from a British cast – Tom Cotcher, Kulvinder Ghir, Shiv Grewal and Nichola McAuliffe, the Olivier Award-winning actress (who has also written the script and is Mackay’s wife.) Humor and hope leaven a hopeless situation, and the play moves you and vexes you, making you wonder where the human race is headed.
‘A British Subject’ runs through January 3 – more details here
