Trojan Horse, brought to the North Wall Theatre by LUNG and Leeds Playhouse, is a short, sharp play which leaves the audience reeling. Based on the true story of a school in Birmingham, we watch a group of pupils and teachers in a world turned upside down by rumour and prejudice. An unsigned letter accusing teachers in a predominantly Muslim school of radicalising their students, makes its way into the hands of the government and the media, feeding into a “useful” Islamophobic rhetoric, and causing the school to be downgraded by Ofsted, the teachers and governors vilified, and the students disillusioned.

The story doesn’t pull any punches. The cast told us that they’re taking the production to the Houses of Parliament – and I certainly wouldn’t like to be Michael Gove watching this! The play uses evidence from interviews, public documents, and transcripts of hearings to present a scathing critique of modern British society. The overwhelming feeling coming out of this performance is that the divisiveness caused by this kind of persecution is much more likely to radicalise young people than a call to prayer in schools. While polemical and socially engaged, Trojan Horse gives a nuanced picture – critiquing the ineffectiveness of the left as much as the divisiveness of the right. No one should be comfortable watching this play.

The cast is incredible. A group of young actors who move effortlessly from character to character using a small selection of props kept inside school desks, which also serve as witness stands in the courtroom scenes. There are no weak links among the cast, but the two standout performances are Mustafa Chaudhry as Rashid – a passionate teacher who has seen his brother take the wrong path in life, and is determined to make sure his pupils are given the opportunity to get on the right path – and Farah (played by Gurkiran Kaur) – one of his students who can’t wait to attend university and leave her difficult family life behind, and who is coming to terms with her sexuality.

The staging is stripped back and clean, with intelligent audio-visuals. Scene cards, like in a black and white movie, set up each scene in English and Urdu, and the transitions are cleverly interspersed with music made from remixed audio of immigration speeches by Michael Gove, David Cameron, and Theresa May. Anyone who wishes can watch the play with a free audio translation in Urdu, making an already inclusive production open to an even wider audience. It was gratifying to see a big, diverse audience at the North Wall for this performance.

This is precisely the kind of theatre that we need today – searing and socially conscious. I’ll look forward to seeing what this company does next.   ★★★★☆     @BookingAround   26^th February 2020