"A timely look at the traumas of dislocation among the children of Muslim immigrants in England, it seems a bit traumatized and dislocated itself, unable to control the gears of conflict to tell its story clearly...'An Ordinary Muslim' is an important work still struggling to emerge from a text filled with freshman problems...The most promising thing is the way its best moments seem to creep delicately out from under the rock of the author’s determination to make heavier points."
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"Hammaad Chaudry makes an audacious if erratic professional debut...The play comes most excitingly to life when it probes the mental torment of being Muslim in an increasingly hostile Western culture...Chaudry and director Jo Bonney can’t sustain this one’s central family tension. Still, Azeem’s anguish is palpable whenever De Silva is front and center."
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"'An Ordinary Muslim' is its playwright’s professional debut, and it’s an impressive one...The play feels solid, nurtured, strong-boned...Chaudry has created a meticulous, empathetic ensemble drama—all eight of his characters feel nuanced, human—but the heart of his pain is located in the father and son...Bonney does precise, powerful work with the entire cast, and it’s particularly wrenching—in that half-funny, half-excruciating, wholly recognizable way—when the generations lock horns."
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"Chaudry smartly plants little seeds of conflict throughout his exposition, and with agrarian patience, the cast nurtures them into fruition. By encouraging such nuanced performances, director Jo Bonney expertly cultivates the slow-build nature of Chaudry's script...'An Ordinary Muslim' is a slow climb, but it's worth it once you get to the top and see Chaudry's bird's-eye perspective."
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"There's so much going on in 'An Ordinary Muslim' that it feels less like a play and more like a pilot for a miniseries...There's plenty of rich material here, but it wants better sorting out...The best thing about 'An Ordinary Muslim' is the chance to spend time with its talented cast, although Jo Bonney's sluggish direction often leaves them at a disadvantage...This is a seriously undercooked piece that needs considerable rethinking if it is ever to be made to work. It tells too much and shows too little."
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"It's exciting to see a new play centering on the Pakistani community and Chaudry's writing shows promise...A solid production with an excellent cast and a savvy director...However, there are problems...These people would never have the level of naivety Chaudry assigns them here simply for the wheels of his plot to keep turning...Worse still is the ridiculous political diatribe Chaudry goes on...Chaudry isn't really saying anything new or fresh in his play."
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"Chaudry is a dab hand at dialogue; and his narrative ambitions are prodigious....Director Bonney is in admirable control of this production. Her supervision of Chaudry's sometimes diffuse dramaturgy rescues the play's sundry themes and conflicting narrative directions from devolving into dramatic chaos...A good, if gangly, play. Bonney's direction of a fine cast and the beautifully integrated design make this an extraordinary production."
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"The trouble is that there is nothing new or daring or particularly interesting about the play despite its intriguing subject matter. It is an old-fashioned play-think warmed over Clifford Odets with a touch of Chekhov and more than a few hints of Greek hubris-that deals with the treatment of Pakistani-British Muslims in Great Britain, specifically West London, 2011. It is full of clichéd writing including having characters appear just as their name is brought up."
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