THEATRE REVIEW: The Funeral Director

From award-winning writer Iman Qureshi comes a play that considers discrimination of sexuality versus religious freedoms, a challenging topic not unheard of in Britain today. The narrative explores the question of morality, when one’s religious beliefs come in direct conflict with another’s right to express their sexuality without fear of intolerance. The Funeral Director it must be said merely scratches the surface of this issue but does a creditable job at bringing the conversation to light as we attempt to become a more compassionate society despite our religion, race, gender or sexual orientation.

Married couple Ayesha & Zeyd run a struggling Muslim Funeral Directors. Their marriage, which can also be seen to be struggling, is thrown into turmoil after they turn away a man looking to organise his dead lover’s funeral on the account that the deceased, while a devout Muslim, was homosexual. The couple is in turn sued on the basis of sexual discrimination and must face the issue head on as they both grapple with their religion, morals and above all sexuality.

Credit in the first instance must be given to the two female actors of the piece. Both Aryana Ramkhalawon as Ayesha and Francesca Zoutewelle as her old school mate turned human rights lawyer Janey bring both tenderness and passion to the few scenes they have together and should be commended for their compelling performances. While the premise of the play is an interesting topic of discussion and wholly relevant, it doesn’t ever really take off from the ground it starts on. Qureshi’s writing regrettably does not stir anything more than a faint interest in the themes the play sets out to the audience. Certain scenes however, such as the opening in which the couple discuss the now hypothetical future life choices of a deceased baby lying on their gurney, are unique and charming in style and something one would hope to see in the future from Qureshi. The Funeral Director is a play which does not pay enough attention to the questions it raises but has promising features that make its writer someone to make a note of.