Review: Ostan, Park Theatre - car washing and gaming in busy immigration play
24/09/2024
Arzhang Pezhman's play Ostan is set in a car wash where owner Shapur (Dana Haqjoo) employs asylum seekers. Rebin (Ojan Genc) doggedly chases progress on his application for indefinite leave while trying to train newbie Gorkem (Serkan Avlik) how to use all the different cleaning products.
The car wash faces stiff competition, and Shapur is not happy with the amount of money it is making. The financial situation is not helped by customers like Noah (El Anthony), who don't always have the money to hand to pay.
Performed in Park Theatre's smaller space, with the audience on either side, the small stage is busy with its car wash set and characters coming and going.
The story is also busy. There are the car wash's struggles, asylum struggles, cultural clashes and racial tensions, and a side-line in people smuggling. There is also Gorkem's fledgling rap career and online computer gaming obsessions.
Conversations primarily take place in the car wash, but there are also a lot of one-sided phone calls and chatting through headsets while gaming.
The latter is performed among the audience, with Noah and Rebin sitting on either side of the stage in the back row. A screen hanging above the performance space shows snippets of the game they are playing.
It requires a lot of the actors who put in solid performances. Nonetheless, it's not always easy to follow what is going on in Ostan, particularly when actors are sitting behind you or obscured by bits of the set.
The meaty themes struggle to punch through among all the busyness. And it's similar for the characters. I wanted to get to know them better and you get glimpses of their stories but not enough to fully connect.
Towards the end, there is some quieter contemplative dialogue, which is where the play feels like it gains some traction, but it comes a little too late.
Ostan touches on a number of important and interesting themes, but with so much going on in a relatively short piece and small space, it doesn't quite land.
I'm giving it ⭐️⭐️ and a half stars.
Ostan, Park Theatre
Written by Arzhang Pezhman
Directed by Gaby Dellal
Cast: Ojan Genc, Serkan Avlik, El Anthony, Moshen Ghafari, Dana Haqjoo
Running time 90 minutes without an interval
Booking until 12 October; visit the Park Theatre website for more details and to buy tickets.
Recently reviewed:
Coriolanus, National Theatre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ booking until 9 November.
Shifters, Duke of York's Theatre; ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ booking until 12 October
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