An empathic and idealistic Chicago teenager is convinced online to convert to Islam (by means of Twitter) and travel to Syria, but is arrested before she can leave America.“Conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism” is the charge levelled against Susie Glenn the irritatingly naïve internet user in question (Fiona Gent) and the US government intends to prosecute her to the full extent of the law with the help of recent Harvard Law graduate and practising Muslim, Claire Fathi (an excellently emotive Paige Round). Ms Fathi is coerced into her prosecutor’s role by Scott Bader - the sort of vaguely intelligent, manipulative, entitled, WASP Ivy Leaguer, we have all grown to loathe outside of the United States, but which America adores and invariably elevates to political office. Matt Mella manages to bring a glib naïveté to the role which often renders him charming, amusing and on occasions, (counterintuitively perhaps for an American attorney), almost likeable. Sam Thorpe-Spinks, whilst tall and consciously measured in his delivery, lacks sufficient wily gravitas yet to fully convince as Mark Arenberg, Susie’s Jewish lawyer appointed at great expense by her father Alan Glenn. This last character is perhaps the least successful in terms of scripted moments and is played by Fearon McElroy - a piece of miscasting which has left the young actor with few realistic choices for conveying the role (which is at least twice his age) convincingly, so he opts for a general slowness and frustrated sense of bewilderment as events unfold.
Selena Fillinger’s play is inspired by a real court case in the USA and contains some juicy lines along social injustice themes, racism and institutionalised ignorance. “Do you know how difficult it is for someone like me to fly under the radar?” barks the hijab-wearing Ms Fathi on the difficulties of attaining her prosecutors office role. After a beat she adds “Do you know how difficult is is for someone like me to fly anywhere!”
Prav MJ gets the most out of her cast who perform scenes in front of a simple backdrop of projected images. Whilst the material isn’t groundbreaking by today’s standards, the play serves as yet another entertaining reminder of the West’s hypocrisy and seeming confusion in relation to Islam and the Middle East in general.
So, it’s Pericles. That Shakespeare play you, erm, know and love. In… French? With a frame narrative which places the action of the Shakespeare play entirely in a different character’s head? Sure, I guess…