“That words have power is a long-held truism that this production pushes home time and time again, albeit while showcasing some fine acting...Hussain’s splatter gun approach to obvious societal evils makes some intriguing points but misses more than it hits, especially in the early parts of ‘Word-Play.’”
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“The play is at its most resonant... in the way it capture language’s ability both to divide people, and to unite them.”
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"An enjoyable short play, exploring the effect of words and language, that is both funny and thought provoking."
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“There’s no narrative as such: it’s a series of sketches that are often hilarious, sometimes moving and which gain a cumulative thematic power. It’s acted by a diverse five-strong cast with deeply funny bones, on a bare stage with a letterbox window at one end and a mural of rainbow inclusivity at the other.”
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“There's so much about this play that'll stick in your throat: a reminder that words can wound, however bland they might sound.”
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“The series of vignettes that... Hussain and... Ismail have woven together set out to explore the power of political language, so it’s all the more disappointing that most of them turn out to be so wilfully obscure... What makes this 80-minute piece even more exasperating is that Ismail gets such assured performances from a cast of five.”
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“Hussain’s script shines in sudden moments of lyrical outrage and the actors do these scenes justice...These are glimmers of a far more powerful play and we wish for more of them.”
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“This play shows how it’s all too easy to manipulate language for self-serving purposes and to use a lot of words while saying nothing – especially when it comes to ‘balance’. There’s also no doubt that Hussain loves words and their nuances.”
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