Showing @ Underbelly – Cowgate, Edinburgh until Sun 24 Aug @ 14:50
The recent news of a Sudanese woman possibly facing execution due to her apostasy, show how cross-religious relationships are still a contentious issue. Gabby is a young atheist who was brought up a Jew. Like most people in their early twenties she is finding her way in life and is temping in a call centre. Here she meets a young Muslim by the name of Mush. Their religious and cultural differences present the conflict in what is a superbly written and finely performed drama.
Mush and Me is set in modern day London. Writer Karla Crome clearly knows the colourful language and diverse characters of the city. Her script sets the tone beautifully but the performances of Danielle Isaacs and David Mumeni bring the story to life as they portray the confused and questioning Mush and Gabby. As the performance progresses we see the characters constantly question their own religion and each other’s beliefs, and as their differences are highlighted their relationship develops.
The performance is augmented with audio recordings of mixed faith couples recounting their own thoughts and feelings on love and religion. This emphasises that the social divide here is not only an issue for the characters of the play, but for anyone who is deeply religious and has found love outside their faith. Here we see the importance of the subject matter in what is a brilliantly performed and emotionally moving drama.