Photo: Ali Wright
Invisible by Nikhil Parmar is a one man show centring on the life of Zayan. The play explores what leads Zayan to feel invisible, as he is outcast by his loved ones and wider society. Nikhil has crafted a piece of theatre that deals with racism, Islamophobia in a powerful and thought-provoking way.
Zayan is a struggling actor who is trying to navigate co-parenting with his ex’s new partner. In the play, Nikhil takes the audience through a series of events that lead Zayan to having destructive violent thoughts.
It’s easy to see how small moments can build up and have dire consequences. Zayan is also grappling with the death of his sister.
Nikhil is a captivating performer and holds the space and audience’s attention throughout the piece. Nikhil quickly sets the tone of the piece and shows us how he will switch between different characters during this performance. Nikhil uses his humour to draw the audience into Zayan’s story before dealing with the more challenging themes.
Invisible is unique as a piece of theatre as it deals with a whole array of an issues in a deep meaningful and powerful way. Often short plays struggle to give space to explore issues in depth, but Invisible introduces each issue gradually and entwines stories of grief, racism, chronic illness and fundamentalism progressively to give each issue the time to resonate.
Bells Kear’s sound design is well timed and helps to bring the story to life with character and Laura Howard’s lighting design helped to illuminate key moments of the play. All the creative elements came together beautifully to support the powerful acting and strong script.
Invisible is a powerful and thought-provoking piece of theatre that challenges the audience to think about how they can make someone to feel more visible. The play highlights societal injustices powerfully. Nikhil uses his captivating acting to draw the audience into the story and keep the audience engaged with Zayans story.
Reviewer: Jennifer Laishley
Reviewed: 25th May 2023
North West End Rating:
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