A Sudden Violent Burst of Rain

Four stars

 Something biblical pervades throughout Sami Ibrahim’s twenty-first century fable, and it’s not just the weather. It’s something to do with the way the eternal tale of migrants fleeing from dangerous lands only to face new obstacles transcends its bleak roots to become a poetic fantasia that more resembles a bedtime story than the damning indictment of an inhumane system it becomes.

 

Elif shears sheep for a rich landowner, with the discarded piles of wool floating into the air to become clouds. Inbetween lobbying the king for citizenship, a dalliance with the landowner’s son leads to further displacement, with Elif and her daughter Lily embarking on a Mother Courage style quest for survival.

 

As performed by Sara Hazemi, Princess Khumalo and Samuel Tracy, there are shades of John Berger by way of Italo Calvino in the depth that lies beyond the deceptively playful simplicity of Yasmin Hafesju’s production for Paines Plough and the Rose Theatre Kingston in association with the Gate Theatre.

 

As the world closes in on Elif and Lily, rather than attempt to offer any kind of solution, Ibrahim’s play becomes an essential hand-me-down guide that uses the imagination to highlight a perilous way of being that exists dangerously close to home. 

 

Summerhall Roundabout until 27 August, 11.20am / 2.20pm alternate days

The List, August 2022

 

Ends