Sweetmeats – Bush Theatre

In the aftermath of grief, it’s a long and difficult lesson to re-learn: we’re better off with people than without them. Relationships are tedious, those we love exasperating; loss deepens with age, caution grows. It takes courage to start again when experience tells you the best days are past. Sweetmeats’ Hema and Liaquat, a widow and widower who become unlikely friends when they are forced to pair up as the ‘scary Indian woman’ and ‘irritating Pakistani man’ at their diabetes support group, are no strangers to the pain of love.

Character-wise, they complete each other. Shobu Kapoor’s Hema is anxious, health-conscious, self-sufficient; as Liaquat, Rehan Sheikh is a joker, childish, indulgent despite his diagnosis. Playwright Kharim Khan makes fun of them with a brilliant, musical wit; he is as merciless to them as they are to each other. Both actors embody their characters impressively, although there is a slight feeling of under-rehearsal with regular overlapping and misfired lines.

It’s a slow burner: two and a half hours long with an interval, two actors playing two characters, a love story that remains mostly in the realm of friendship. Khan sets himself quite a challenge – two-handers are notoriously tricky for maintaining momentum, even in one-act plays (Sweetmeats is double that). The story is naturally slow-paced, and there’s a lot of talk. Hema and Liaquat’s friendship is founded on concern for each other’s approach to life and diabetes, resulting in frequent arguments about guilt versus pleasure which usually end in Hema making her excuses and exiting. The play is long enough that the repetition takes away from Khan’s underlying observation about grief and turns it into a character trope.

What is unspoken is the hesitation they both feel about the leap of faith towards love. Khan’s portrayal of mutual understanding is subtle and beautiful; united by a common experience of loss, they rarely console each other with words. Hema learns that Liaquat still can’t cook after his wife’s death and resolves to teach him one recipe in his kitchen. Amrit Kaur’s heartwarming score fills the Holloway Theatre, replacing dialogue with soulful Indian-classical-inspired music, and the space is brought to life. As Hema cooks and Liaquat sous-chefs, both become playful and light. Communication is physical and intuitive; the act of preparing food lights a fire between them.

Aldo Vázquez’s set design fits an astonishing and fluid collection of spaces into the Bush. Two living rooms, a garden, a community hall, a kitchen and a bus stop are included onstage, some below ground level, others up a flight of stairs. The first moments of the play spotlights each setting individually to the pulse of Kaur’s string music. New dimensions are drawn from these spaces in what is otherwise a small, intimate story.

Sweetmeats runs until 21st March at the Bush Theatre with tickets available at https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/

Reviewer: Holly Sewell

Reviewed: 13th February 2026

North West End UK Rating: