Expendable, Royal Court Theatre Review
Written by Kennedy for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
“Bring the focus back on the girls and women. Big. Full. Stop!”
In a society where the idea of accusing a man of sexual misconduct or rape is considered more severe than the act of sexual abuse itself, Expendable is timely and thought-provoking. Set against the backdrop of the 2011 sex trafficking scandals in Northern England, Writer Emteaz Hussain (recipient of the Clare McIntyre Bursary) has constructed a stunning narrative that seeks to amplify the voices of British Pakistani women affected by systemic violence from both external forces and internal betrayals. The play follows the story of a Pakistani family caught in the crossfire of societal prejudice, patriarchal oppression, and the impact of media narratives.
Zara (Avita Jay) the matriarch, is forced to retreat into her home, fearing for her family's safety. Her son Raheel (Gurjeet Singh) has been accused of grooming their family friend Jade (Maya Bartley O’Dea)— an adolescent White girl who is a victim of sexual abuse in their community. When Zara’s estranged sister, Yasmin (Lena Kaur) arrives to offer support after seeing her nephew's face on a newspaper's front page, their reunion is fraught with tension and unspoken resentments.
Fitting to the gable roof of the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre upstairs, the play is set in the heart of a home, a kitchen. Director Esther Richardson and designer Natasha Jenkins construct a setting mirroring the domestic space that often serves as the epicentre of community and care where women have been conditioned to live in a perpetual state of labour; nurturing, protecting, and healing their communities.
The sisters cut through dense topics over a blend of Urdu and English while chopping enough onions to feed an entire mosque, cleaning and tending to wounds, and catering to a shocked and fearful Raheel as soon as he walks into the room. Meanwhile, Zara’s teenage daughter Sophia (Humera Sayed) is busy constructing social media strategies and organizing activist plans to save an entire community. A woman’s work is continuously evident in the space though seamless and known to be easily overlooked.
Avita Jay’s character Zara is a woman with traditional values and a good heart, but at her own expense. Jay gracefully balances Zara’s strict attitude and willful ignorance in defense of cultural values as well as an openness to perspective. Grappling with her own experience with patriarchal oppression, Zara is both wary and supportive of Sophia’s activity on social media and her joining a questionable community activist organisation led by her judgemental uncle. His sentiments reign supreme over Zara and Yasmin’s lives, creating a divide of loyalty between their sisterly bond. Lena Kaur is brilliant in her portrayal of a woman torn between her love for her family and culture, whilst unwavering in her awareness of the conservative hypocrisies and faults within a community that has crucified her. Kaur is a liberatory force displaying emotional resilience as Yasmin delicately gathers information to understand the coveted truth of the crime that has taken place under her family’s roof and within the community.
What I appreciate most about this play is its generosity in offering the honour of being invited into a family's home to experience them as their authentic selves. Without attempting to over-explain themselves at the risk of being made into caricatures of identities that are so often othered in White British spaces, Expendable is unapologetic and outspokenly political. Aided by dramaturg Nazil Tabatabai-Kkatambakhsh, writer Emteaz Hussain cultivates honest representations of cultural nuances and imagined discussions around the traumatic impact of this real case within a British Pakistani family home.
While the play raises important questions about the role of media, the impact of prejudice, and the complexities of family relationships, its message — to bring the focus back to the girls and women— fell short in further exploring individual characters as well as the experience of the women and girls impacted by male violence outside of the home. We receive mentions that provide insight but at times, it does feel as though the focus is drawn away from those stories. Overruled by the tendency to prioritize defending the accusations against men.
Despite this shortcoming, Expendable is a valuable contribution to the theatrical landscape. A testament to the necessity of demanding more responsibility from men and communities as a whole to take on the responsibility of nurturing, protecting, and healing issues faced within the home and broader community.
At Royal Court Theatre until 21 December 2024
★★★★.5
