Just a brief glance at the recent history of Afghanistan will give you some idea of its troubled state. It’s a story of conflict, instability and interference that has had a shattering effect on the country’s economy and infrastructure. The NATO mission responsible for maintaining security since 2001 ended in December 2014 and the internationally-recognised government has struggled to extend its authority beyond the capital city Kabul, or to stimulate unity in this landlocked and mountainous country. Further back there was the hard-line Taliban regime. This followed the 10 years of Soviet rule during which a million people died. And beyond that Afghanistan’s use as a buffer state by western empires during the 19th century. The threads of history are drawn together in this play. They are retold and interwoven in the tale of a rich American who tries to help this troubled country. The American came to Afghanistan as a child, the son of an architect employed to build a dam and he is played by Martin Bonger, the sole actor and co-writer of this piece.
Martin orbits the stage under a rotating ceiling fan. He wistfully recounts his life from child to adult, through financial failure to astonishing success: how do you make millions on the stock market? “It’s just passing round an idea”. He swings his arms, points his fingers and punches the air. He brandishes a baseball bat, dances and wails. He is spinning tales, telling stories and reciting memories as he paces. The sparse lighting casts eerie shadows across the floor as he moves. The performance is vivid, bold and engaging even if the narrative itself is a little disjointed.
The few props are efficiently used to illuminate and flesh out the dialogue; dust and water, chair and carpet. There is a fantastical soundscape created by designer Ben Osborn using composer Jennifer Bell’s haunting songs. Segments of a cappella, drum beats, vocal harmony. The songs drift around the theatre as Martin Bonger builds the show with jagged, sometimes menacing, movement and flowery speech; the dialogue is almost poetry. First a boyhood world of the enchanting and the exotic and later the frenzied rush of the stock exchange. Family moments of fun, isolation and tragedy are intermingled with historical allusions.
Director and writer Simon Day says this show is based on a real life character; you may be familiar with the character portrayed, I wasn’t but that didn’t matter. The news stories from the Middle East and the ‘war on terrorism’ are familiar. I also remember the heady years of stock market growth in the 80s and the development of computers. But this show is really about connections and contrasts: the worlds of the ancient and modern; the people of the west and the near east; the playful occasions and the serious events. Small stories of families and bigger stories of international relations are linked together like a modern version of the 1001 Nights. An intense and vibrant piece of modern theatre. ★★★★☆ Adrian Mantle 23rd September 2016
