Ashraf (Dana Haqjoo), born in Egypt, longtime resident of Wigan, loves his taxi. Almost all of the 27 scenes of this play are set inside, or near to, this cab. To be a driver is a form of freedom, and a vehicle becomes an extension of an individual, a microcosm of their world. But if you don’t own your car, if you cannot drive, what then? The ideas may not be new but they are still powerful, and the strongest element in this paint-by-numbers east-meets-west comedy, with its 1970s central-casting roster of characters and distasteful over-reliance on non-native speakers’ idiomatic use of English to raise laughs from the audience.
Written by Shamia Chalabi – who also plays Ashraf’s daughter, Shazia –and Sarah Henley (co-founder of NextUp Comedy standup streaming service), the story is inspired by Chalabi’s own experiences growing up in Wigan in an Egyptian-British family. Events may be rooted in reality (Muslim Ashraf’s insistence on Shazia wearing a scarf, for example), but they need to be crafted to achieve dramatic effect. Here, Shazia is in her late-20s at least, and living with white, British Chris; such tussles with her father hold no real threat to her independence, nor to their snippy, loving relationship.
If the writing has yet to find its dramatic oomph, the production does its utmost to ignite the action. Helen Coyston’s ingenious design, based around four mobile chairs (as lit by Pablo Fernandez Baz), encourages the audience’s imagination to complete the picture.
Sepy Baghaei’s direction gives full throttle to the actors’ talents, especially Haqjoo as muddling-through Ashraf; Hemi Yeroham as Shazia’s interfering, strictly observant brother; and Houda Echouafni and Helen Sheals deftly highlighting complementary traits in their contrasting roles as Ashraf’s new, Egyptian Muslim wife and Wigan-born first wife.
Habibti Driver is at the Octagon, Bolton, until 7 May
