A delicately written and compellingly acted tale of female repression.
In The House of Bilquis Bibi, writer-director duo Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith transport Lorca's Spanish classic The House of Bernarda Alba to modern day Pakistan. The newly-adapted play tells the story of five daughters dreaming of life and love outside of their mother's smothering grip.
Literally set within shifting walls, the drama begins when Bilquis' husband suddenly dies and the family retreats into mourning. Trapped by their mother's caution and custom, the girls long to escape her ever-tightening clasp. "I don't want to be shut in these rooms," says Aroosa, the youngest, lamenting both her father's passing and the world that seems to be passing her by.
Sounds from the outside – calls to prayer, fruit pickers returning to harvest, even the dog's barking at approaching guests – set a scene of distant men and female seclusion. Inside, the girls gossip about the external lives of others, which include Facebook, Skype, and Green Cards. But Bilquis refuses to let the outside world fully encroach on her household and strict, religious foundation. Her discipline and impossible matrimonial standards isolate and infuriate her wistful daughters.
But at last, there is the hungered-for hope: The eldest daughter is betrothed to cousin Pappo, who begins to visit the household with Bilquis’ complicit consent. However, soon the other girls' competing desires and ultimate desperation bring that hope to a haunting end.
The delicately written and compellingly acted tale of female repression skillfully combines old and new. Actress and singer Ila Arus (Jodhaa Akbar) makes a commanding matron whose threatening stare, tautly drawn lip, and downcast gaze send chills down my spine. The rest of the cast submits to her domineering presence, effortlessly conveying fear, shame, and secret jealousies.
An unlikely star of the show is the servant Bushra, played by a straight-faced Rina Fatania (Britain's Got Bhangra, Wuthering Heights), who connects Bilquis’ stilted world with the desires of the daughters and speaks to them all with plain and often comical truth. Her sarcasm and one-liners keep the audience laughing through the otherwise heavy piece.
We're left to guess the motivations of the overbearing matriarch Bilquis, who teaches her daughters to lock their doubts and emotions on the inside. If a sense of honour, propriety or fear are her driving force, her willful disregard to their caged hearts nonetheless has fatal consequences.
The House of Bilquis Bibi runs at Hampstead Theatre until 17th August
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