Good Muslim Boy, presented by Queensland Theatre & Malthouse Theatre, is a story that follows Osamah, an Iranian man in his thirties who has lived in Australia since his family moved when he was a child. He is portrayed as a bit of a man-child: addicted to his phone, partying hard, taking drugs, and dealing with a failed marriage. His patient father, played by Rodney Afif, invites Osamah on a pilgrimage back to Iran for two weeks so that they can reconnect with the land and their past. Osamah begrudgingly agrees to but stubbornly finds himself more fixated on his phone than his heritage. When his father suddenly dies, Osamah is left to deal with the seemingly never ending struggles that plague him as he navigates the foreign law and procedures needed to bring his father back to Australia before his visa and money run out.
There are three actors in the performance with Osamah playing himself, while Rodney Afif and Nicole Nabout juggle their time changing characters scene to scene, portraying various family members, black market dealers, state officials and guards. Rodney Afif has the standout performance, as he gives each varying character enough nuance to enjoy and separate them. He exudes love and patience in his role as a father to Osamah, whilst bringing enough fire to the smallest of roles like his depiction of a former law student reduced to being a black market dealer.
Nicole Nabout injects humour into the play with her role as Osamah’s mother, who struggles with some of the intricacies of Australian curse words, or some of her small roles like an old woman at the registration line hunching painfully and slowly to the front counter. Unfortunately, Nicole’s varying middle eastern accents leave much to be desired as she struggles to finish full sentences in the same accent hopping between clear Australian and some foreign dialect. However, her versatility is impressive and is brought to each role as she turns from ruthless gun toting guard to Aussie bogan just looking for a lighter and some change with a click of the fingers.
The set design by Romanie Harper is fantastic in its simplicity of a bus stop style set with three glass walls and a roof with an illuminating sign that provides the audience with set locations such as “Tehran airport terminal” or the clocks flashing hours rapidly changing as Osamah anxiously struggles to get his father's death certificates signed off by the various departments.
I particularly enjoyed the use of the side panels that turned into customer booths and the back glass walls swinging to depict airport automatic doors. The use of these props and set changes emphasised Osamah’s entrances as he burst into various departments looking for assistance. Ben Hughes’ lighting is subtle and effective, while Janice Muller’s direction helps to strengthen the performance.
I found that I personally related to Osamah’s struggle to navigate a foreign country. I struggled my way through India recently and found myself drawing a lot of similarities and finding a lot of humour in the anxiety-ridden complications that the character encountered.
At first I was not entirely convinced of Osamah’s acting ability as the opening scenes felt a little bit stiff and jarring. After a few scenes he seemed to relax into the performance a bit and showed off his expertise and skills for an overall great performance.
I felt that the subject of the father’s death could have potentially been a lot more raw and emotional, and I believe that this was a missed opportunity. There were many moments such as the eventual phone call home to tell his mother that her husband had suddenly died which ended up falling flat as the scene was swiftly brushed over leaving Nicole Nabout very little time to depict a grieving widow, however she did the best she could in the time frame.
There is plenty to enjoy in this performance with lots of humour, moments of sadness, and scenes that spark inspiration. Now go call your parents and tell them you love them.
12th July - 4th August
Cremorne Theatre, QPAC
Review: Tom Harrison