‘Nowhere’ is a one-man show written and performed by Khalid Abdalla of Flight 93, The Kite Runner and The Crown fame. For 90 minutes Khalid takes us on a trip through his ‘antibiography’ – a roller-coaster ride of family memories, incidents, social protest, world-changing events and historical backdrop. Read our interview with Khalid Abdalla here
It kicks off with the violent upheaval that instigated the 2011 Egyptian revolution in which Khalid participated. We are then shunted backwards to his memories of visiting his protester-grandfather in prison as a small boy, and fast-tracked forward through time as he introduces us to a close friend of his, whose love of partying and creating political art while fighting pancreatic cancer is obviously deeply inspirational and uplifting for Khalid, and us, as we learn of his friend’s passion for life in the face of the inevitable.
Hurtling into the recent past to an anecdote of his experience at a US airport Border Control where, due to his famous face and Arabic name, Khalid was interrogated is suddenly bypassed by a brief history lesson on the colonisation and carving up of both the US and the Middle East, all of which help with answer the Border Control’s questions.
If this is all sounds all a bit random, confusing and bleak, then I should stress: it really isn’t. Nowhere is a well-paced show that uses an array of screens, veil-curtains, ambient sounds, disco music, mobile phones and audience participation to good effect.
Khalid also mixes the heaviness in with light comical moments – his Scottish, Irish and Arabic accents are a joy, as are the pics of himself as a toddler in tartan. To say that Khalid is international is an understatement.
Most importantly, Khalid makes sure that he never preaches: instead he informs, entertains, and I would imagine most crucially for him, he gets us to think.
Edward Bliss
Nowhere is at Oxford Playhouse until Sat Jan 24. Book at: https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/nowhere
