Vitamin D, Soho Theatre Review
Written by Cathie for Theatre and Tonic.
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own.
With the arrival of the colder ‘ber’ months, everyone and their aunt talk about the essential nature of vitamin D to keep ourselves strong and healthy. This play, Vitamin D, provides a much-needed bolster to keep our spirits and sense of community strong. Throughout the 90-minute running time (no interval), we meet the wonderful but wounded Larki (Saher Shah), a British Pakistani Millennial who is going through a painful divorce and is moving from Manchester back to her childhood home in Pinner with her family.
In this all-female production we see a frustrated Larki going through the gauntlet of overbearing aunties and facing the stigma of being divorced in the Pakistani South Asian Community. This is seen in an episodic manner with many different events and home experiences going forward over the space of a year. Through discussions with her close Friend (Anshula Bain) and Bestie (Ambika Sharma) the audience gets key insights into the challenges they face and how they listen to and support her whilst calling her out on her more petty moments. We see the overbearing Auntie (Zyna Goldy) who perhaps best shows that miserable people want others to be miserable so they can feel better that they aren’t the only ones going through this. Her dialogue, constant mockery and swiping at others for perceived ‘failures’ to uphold the patriarchal customs showcase that it is often older women who enforce unhealthy societal standards as much as men. This includes conversations with her mother (Renu Brindle) on Larki, where the loving mother wants to be supportive but is pressured into asking her daughter when she will remarry.
I especially enjoyed the inclusion of Urdu into many of the scenes and the most heated discussions between mother and daughter as it added layers of authenticity and pathos to some very painful arguments to watch. It is not often that we have plays discussing the South Asian Community but writer Saher Shah and director Melina Namdar have created a beautiful production which balances the line between profound and playful with panache. Whilst this play mostly shines a theatrical spotlight into a very insular London community, it does also attempt to address wider themes, perhaps best shown with the, in theory, well-intentioned but incredibly overbearing Colleague (Rosaleen Burton) who showcases racial stereotypes, virtue signalling and pries into Larki’s life in a very rude manner. At times it feels that this play is trying to cover so many topics that the audience can be unsure of the details of the messages but the overarching themes of solidarity, breaking away from traditions and customs that cause you suffering, sticking it to those who enforce the patriarchy and finding comfort and solidarity with others in your community.
I laughed loudly and often and winced in feminine sympathy all too often watching this. Regardless of your background, this is an important play to watch for its sincere portrayal of the challenges and pressures we all face and the importance of relying on friends in times of stress. If you enjoy playful comedies that expose societal truths with acerbic wit, watching the domineering aunties get their comeuppance or fighting for the last jalebi then I recommend this show for you.
At Soho Theatre until 21 September 2024
★ ★ ★ ★
