REVIEW: Coming Up, Watford Palace Theatre ✭✭✭

Mitesh Soni, Neil D'Souza, Goldy Notay and Ravin J Ganatra in Coming Up. Photo: Richard Lakos Coming Up

Watford Palace Theatre

14th October

3 Stars

Buy Tickets

There have already been a plethora of plays and films about the Indian experience in Britain. And yet there’s been precious little about how British Indians are received when they return to their homeland.

Neil D’Souza’s Coming Up tells the story of Alan (also played by D’Souza), who comes back to the motherland on business after decades of living in the UK. He finds that the India he knew has massively changed, along with his relationships with his aunt and cousin. He is also able to retrace the steps of his father, Jacob, who appears in both older and younger form, framed by the passages of his diary. It shows Jacob’s tough Catholic upbringing amongst the backdrop of Ghandi and the Indian independence movement.

If it sounds like a lot then it really is! There are two fairly significant plots, which span a number of decades, locations and involve around twenty characters in total. This isn’t a problem in itself but the staging directions call for locations to be transformed with ‘minimum fuss’. The swiftness with which the play darts around takes some getting used to (sometimes the characters will go back in time within the same scene and setting), especially as characters are not given much of an introduction. The play seems stronger in the second half as the story starts to settle and some of the key plot points start to converge.

There’s a lot to like about this production; the characters are all complex and interesting and the sparky and rich dialogue felt authentically Indian. There are a few themes running throughout; mainly concerning identity and belonging. Alan feels (presumably) not quite at home in Britain and yet he cannot get enthused about his homeland; he doesn’t like the culture and has grown apart from his relatives, chasing financial success instead.

It is refreshing to see a conflicted portrayal of a homecoming, as opposed to the ‘finding yourself’ narrative that usually emerges; the mixed-up ethos is part of what keeps the play interesting and engaging. India is shown as a country in transition, replacing the caste divisions of the 1930s with a consumer culture, although the gap between rich and poor is still as vast as ever.

The scenes between Alan and his estranged cousin felt strongest, with brilliant acting from both cast members. In fact, Alan’s subplot was generally more emotive than Jacob’s, partly due to the latter becoming embroiled with some unnecessary symbolism involving a tiger, which seemed fairly ripe for trimming. There was also a clever ending featuring an Indian young girl in a departure lounge, showing how much Alan (and India) have changed and allowing Alan to explore and express his true feelings.

The cast is excellent across the board; it’s a true ensemble production with everyone taking on three or four parts. They are all expected to change age, gender and accent, even mid-scene; they all do so with real skill .

Two in particular stood out; firstly Goldy Notay who showed her versatility playing both the sweet and energetic young Jacob and Alan’s eighty year old aunt. The two performances were drastically different but also intelligently acted with a strong sense of humour. Mitesh Soni is similarily impactful as Alan’s brother Daniel and a conflicted priest; his seven-year old Daniel was a masterclass in how an adult should play younger parts.

Rebecca Brower’s set is excellent; laced with religious symbolism, with an imposing backdrop and lighting which reflected the play’s mystical themes. Shona Morris’ movement was perfectly good but it didn’t feel quite right for this sort of play; the increased use of dance towards the end of the play got in the way just as a compelling ending was naturally emerging.

Coming Up is a play that tries to do many different things and scores more hits than misses. With some judicious editing, it could serve as one of the more innovative portrayals of identity issues and cultural chases.

Coming Up runs at the Watford Palace Theatre until 24 October 2015