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Written by
Nadim Sawalha
Company
Tamasha Theatre
Company
Director
Kristine
Landon-Smith
Performed by
Nadim Sawahla |
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Soho
Theatre
1 - 13 March
2004
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A man, vaguely
resembling a rather successful second
hand car sales man in his double-breasted
Italian grey suit, descends into view.
He greets his supporters, shaking hands,
lookikng every bit the potential parliamentary
candidate. He stands centre stage, raising
his arms like a talented preacher. Yet
this man is neither statesman nor religious
leader. He is Mohammed Al Fayed, Brompton
Road's most prominent grocer.
Ever
since buying 'that corner shop', and
maybe even before, he has been striving
for the little maroon book - the British
Passport. He has knocked on ever door
in his efforts to acquire citizenship,
the Foreign Office, the Home Office,
10 Downing Street, he has paid Members
of Parliament to raise questions in
the Commons for him, he even bought
a rather unsuccessful football club
to prove himself. None of these tactics
helped: he still has no passport,.
Nadim
Sawalha wonderfully characterises Mr
Al Fayed's ambiguous but jovial persona.
He sheds little light into why Mr Al
Fayed has been refused a passport for
so many years, but this is more about
the quest and the answers rather than
any serious investigation into the inner
workings of the passport office. Parts
of the play might appear somewhat politically
incorrect, and there are some awkward
moments when Dodi and Diana are mentioned.
However the main diatribe over the yearly
refusals of a passport is wonderful
and does leaves one with a sense of
wondering about the inner workings of
'the establishment'.
It seems
that the public will never truly know
Mohammed Al Fayed and exactly where
he came up with the money to buy Harrods.
Yet for anyone who has had the opportunity
to study the man or sat through a promotional
Harrods recruitment video from the shop's
proprietor knows that this is a superbly
close resemblance of the man who wants
nothing more than that little maroon
book.
Elizabeth Shenton |
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