The elephant in the room is a trinket. It is an animal ornament that catches the light with its silvery spangles. These days, it embarrasses its owner, Ella – not so much because it smacks of cultural appropriation, she being a white actor from Hebden Bridge, the elephant a symbol of the Hindu deity Ganesh. It is more because it reminds her of her 10-year-old self, a little girl entranced by the fabrics and colours of India.
Played by a spirited Eva Scott, she whisks the elephant out of the way of her new boyfriend Haseeb, a north London poet. He jokingly reminds her his family is not from India – his parents were born in Pakistan – but the ornament is a small reminder of their differing cultural backgrounds.
In Zia Ahmed’s romantic two-hander, previously staged at London’s Bush theatre, this literal elephant in the room becomes metaphorical. They even give it a name – André – as it expands into the space between them.
Usman Nawaz, low-key and conversational as Haseeb, can’t help but project the microaggressions of a racist society on to their relationship. In turn, Ella can only feel pushed away.
However hard the two try to accept each other as they are, cultural baggage weighs them down. Sometimes it is of no consequence: the perceived differences between north and south London or the familiar way people greet each other in the countryside. But where on a sliding scale of discomfort do you put cultural stereotyping or the possibility of a racist attack?
Neither of them are complicit in these things – on the contrary, they actively call them out – but as they go from Christmas to Eid to Halloween, André increases in size. It is a Romeo-and-Juliet tragedy in which the lovers have internalised the Montague/Capulet schisms.
Or at least, it would be if the drama were not played out on so modest a scale. Director Sameena Hussain draws attractive performances from Scott and Nawaz, even if they don’t quite win your heart. On a set by Warda Abbasi that deftly suggests railway arches, tube trains and bedrooms, theirs is a relationship without urgency. Ahmed has much to say about the insidious effects of a divided culture – but his narrative meanders where it should sting.
• At Leeds Playhouse until 14 May.
