Before The Millennium is a story about friendship, loyalty, life and its struggles, but more than anything it’s about belonging. It has moments of joy, laughter, tears, anger and betrayal. It lifts you up and then tears you down. It makes you reflect, giggle and reminisce, but it is also a deeply uncomfortable journey at times, the overriding feeling of shame hard to shake off as the audience shifts in their seats.
But that is playwright Karim Khan’s gift, not to shy away from difficult conversations, or to preach, but instead inviting you in, allowing you to stand in someone else’s shoes and see Oxford through their eyes, to experience their existence for yourselves. WORLD PREMIERE: Karim Kahn on ‘Before The Millennium’ at OFS
While we pat ourselves on the back about what a wonderfully diverse city Oxford is, too few of us have real experience of what that looks like, and Karim Khan is determined to change that
It’s like gatecrashing a party, and witnessing first hand the intimacies of Pakistani culture alongside the struggles and challenges of building a new life here.
If that all sounds a bit heavy-handed then don’t worry, because Before The Millennium is a lovely story, that of Iqra and Zoya who work in Woolworths, their deep and integral friendship a lifeline for both. And in the storeroom of the high street variety store their tales pan out as together they traverse the complex challenges of joining a society that at times is deeply unwelcoming and hard to navigate, through humour and observation.
as the play develops, we realise there is more at stake than just setting up home in a foreign country
Before The Millennium starts off gently, Karim setting the scene as the duo unpack the pick n mix and Christmas toys all the while joking, eating chocolate, mucking about and dancing, accompanied by a Wham and Bollywood soundtrack, the action taking place on a bare central stage in-the-round.
But as the play develops, we realise there is more at stake than just setting up home in a foreign country. What soon becomes apparent is that Iqra (Prabhleeen Oberoi) has ambitions that go way beyond Woolworths, or as she puts it herself: “There is so much I want to do to change this fucking world.”
Studying politics at Brasenose College, Iqra intends to return to Pakistan to make a difference, while Zoya (Gurjot Dhaliwal) has been married off and set up home with her new husband in Oxford. Iqra is her only friend and Woolworths her lifeline. She is desperately homesick, stranded and bewildered. But Iqra has taught her how to read and write, she is becoming more independent and her personality shines through. It is an unequal relationship from the word go, or as Zoya puts it: “Some people are born with everything and some people are born with nothing.”
“Some people are born with everything and some people are born with nothing”
But then Faiza arrives (Hannah Khalique Brown), Oxford born and bred, second generation Pakistani, and a world apart in both outlook and confidence. She is like a mirror to both Zoya and Iqra, something Iqra takes great exception to. Iqra resents Faiza’s freedom, her ability to fit in, the inevitable loosening of Pakistani beliefs and traditions. Faiza is westernised and it’s problematic. “She is British with a British accent like a little British Disney princess,” Iqra comments, the inverted snobbery blatant.
There will be no spoilers here, so the second half will remain undisclosed, but suffice to say that Faiza is a problem-solver and here to help providing a much needed bridge between Pakistani and English cultures – a Christmas angel sent to ease their passage. But what is interesting is that Khan doesn’t resort to cliched examples of racism or patriarchy, allowing the trio of women to tell their own stories, unadulterated by male voices.
Khan doesn’t resort to cliched examples of racism or patriarchy, allowing the trio of women to tell their own stories
The casting is genius – Prabhleen Oberoi‘s stern, fierce, direct Iqra pushing the plot on with momentum. The loveable Zoya ‘s journey deliciously reenacted by Gurjot Dhaliwal so rawly – as Faiza points out “it’s not passive – it takes bravery and courage,” which Zoya has in droves.
Faiza is a breath of fresh air, Hannah Khalique Brown mesmerising; her fresh, young talent shining through, especially in the unspoken moments, her empathy and sheer stage presence rendering her one to watch.
Hannah Khalique Brown mesmerising; her fresh, young talent shining through
A seismic, brave, new and intimate piece of writing then, perfectly suited to the Old Fire Station‘s festive ethos, Khan’s determination to represent minorities and air their stories as strident, simpatico and relevant as ever. “A future full of hopes and songs and dreams.”
Discussing the play outside afterwards, a family turned and said: “It’s nice to finally be seen, to have our stories heard, to recognise what our parents and grandparents went through.” They were right, it is about time and it’s a diasporic story that needs to be told, especially at Christmas.
A seismic, brave, new and intimate piece of writing then, perfectly suited to the Old Fire Station’s festive ethos,
Because while we all pat ourselves on the back about what a wonderfully diverse city Oxford is, too few of us have real experience of what that looks like, and Karim Khan is determined to change that.
Before The Millennium is at OFS until Dec 21. https://oldfirestation.org.uk/whats-on/before-the-millennium/
