Stage: A question of faith

Where There Is No Time
by Mohammedally Hashemi
director Hamza Ali
with Mohammedally Hashemi, Milly Zero, Kerena Jagpal
Seven Dials Playhouse, London • 17-28.Mar.26 ★★★

Packed with big ideas, this one-hour drama keeps the audience engaged as we consider moral questions in the context of global culture. The writing is smart and understated, but it's also underpowered, and it becomes opaque due to stagey flourishes and barbed performances. As a result, the three characters are intriguingly prickly but never very likeable, especially with their oversized melodramatic mood swings.

It's set in an atelier in London, where Yemeni-Iranian designer Yusuf (played by writer Mohammedally Hashemi) is preparing his new show with his best friend and muse Nina (Kerena Jagpal). She encourages him to embrace the political edge in his work, and wants him to make a bold statement with his Dress of Faith, which was designed by his late mother, who inspired him to embrace his art and heritage. But the show is being funded by businesswoman Susann (Milly Zero), who wants Yusuf to be more accessible and commercial. She also loathes Nina, and their clash threatens the whole collection.

Essentially, this is a fresh take on the idea of killing your darlings, letting your friends and most beloved ideas go in order to find both artistic and popular success. So the jagged discussions ripple with resonant topicality, given extra weight by the Middle Eastern background, even if everything feels a little too sharply pointed. Each character has a moment when they hit the wall, burning bridges with screaming fury that feels unearned by the characterisations. This leaves the strongly charismatic actors looking arch as their glances throw razor-sharp daggers at each other. Without even a hint of camp humour, this is played with relentless, deadly seriousness.

In an attempt to add cinematic flourishes, the show is staged with jangling musical stings at the moment each character enters or exits, whether or not there's any passage of time. And a swirly time-lapse segment adds similarly distracting flashing lights. These are clearly meant to signify visual edits, but they continually throw us out of the scene. That said, it does add an eye-catching sense of drama to the interaction. And the bigger themes emerge with a real kick.

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photo by Tariq Westcarr • 19.Mar.26