The Reluctant Fundamentalist moves from page to stage
Daniel Nelson
The book is a monologue but Street’s version brings the people in Changez’s story to life, aided in this case by Prasanna Puwanarajah’s thoughtful direction and excellent National Youth Theatre acting, apart from some wobbles in the smaller roles.
It deserves to be seen – and to run the gauntlet of unimaginative application of the government’s Prevent strategy – because author Mohsin Hamid’s idea is so good and so subtly written.
If you’ve read the book you might think the play is not worth bothering with, but it’s always interesting to see where adapter, cast and director spark fresh interpretations by their emphasis on particular paragraphs and incidents (I was so engrossed in the book that I read it too fast, and so, dumb though I feel to admit it, missed the obvious connection made between the fundamentalism of some interpretations of Islam and the fundamentals so beloved of market dealers). There are also some delightful staging touches, such as the interplay between Changez, his brother in the family’s Lahore teashop, and lucky members of the audience., and the flickering lights of Pakistani load-shedding.
It’s also fascinating to see what has been omitted, added and changed in the 90-minute physical version, including the ending, which seems rather less ambiguous than the book. I ’ll now read it again to check – another success for the play.
Book and play are compulsively enthralling, building layer on layer until the dramatic moment when Changez reveals his reaction to the Twin towers bombing.
Much to think about, much to enjoy. I hope it’s staged again.
* The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Finborough Theatre, Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, London, SW10, 23-27 August 2016. Info: http://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/
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