GDIF 2022: Peaceophobia – Common Wealth / Here East, London

A review of Peaceophobia, a truly innovative performance taking place as part of Greenwich + Docklands International Festival. Ali, Sohail and Casper take back control of narratives around their religion, their cars, and their home city of Bradford.

Back At GDIF

It seems to be a week for festivals. Yesterday it was Unlimited at the Southbank Centre to see Saturn Returns. Today we are in East London to see Peaceophobia as part of the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival (GDIF) – the work’s London premiere. If you are an avid Salterton Arts Review reader you may remember we were here last year, and saw a blend of theatre, dance and arts events. This year we will be deep diving into two performances, the first of which is Peaceophobia.

Peaceophobia is a very interesting collaboration. It is a verbatim theatrical performance from playwright Zia Ahmed with Mohammad Ali Yunis, Casper Ahmed, and Sohail Hussain. The latter three contributors are members of Bradford Modified Club, which holds meets for Bradford’s large community of car enthusiasts. Their stories and experiences are the building blocks of this work of theatre. This is a Common Wealth production – building on a history of site-specific and political work in Bradford and Cardiff. And lastly director Evie Manning is supported by Iram Rehman, Sajidah Shabir, Rosema Nawaz, Mariyah Kayat, Madeyah Khan, and Maleehah Hussain of Speakers Corner, a collective of women whose desire to destigmatise their brothers’ faith and love of cars was the seed for this production. It really takes a village sometimes. Or in this case the city of Bradford.

So I mentioned that Common Wealth stage site-specific works. When the topic is cars, this lends itself quite nicely to the location being… a multi-story carpark! The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Multi Storey Car Park no less, which felt a very odd tribute on a day of national mourning. But I digress. The car park is a necessary location as the cars themselves are here and part of the action. There’s a Toyota Supra, a Volkswagen Golf, and a Vauxhall Nova. They actually get more space in the digital programme than the actors. But one of the points of Peaceophobia is understanding what an all-encompassing hobby cars can be, so it tracks.

Cars, Bradford, Islam

So we know where this performance takes place and who’s involved. But how does it actually work? Well it starts, appropriately, with the actors driving onto the set. A great way to impart immediately the pride they have in their work on their cars, and the meaning that they pour into them. They strike up conversations with each other or with the audience (or occasionally with their cars), keeping it casual and often very funny even while weaving in stories of Islamophobia big and small.

Because another of the key points here is that it’s not just the serious incidents of Islamophobia that matter, the ones that get press coverage, it’s also the ‘death by a thousand cuts’ of the small incidents of othering. The “Oh, you’re not like the others” while walking your dog. The assumption that you can’t just have a nice car because you care about it, it must signify something more sinister. Young Asian men who have pride in their city and community and faith are told in various ways that they don’t belong. It can be hard to hear, but it must be much harder to live.

Zia Ahmed shows a real talent for capturing dialogue which cuts through and resonates with the audience. I found myself noting down quotes I wanted to remember:

“We’re magicians. Watch us become invisible and hypervisible all at the same time.”

“What’s more antisocial: loud music or racism? Loud music or budget cuts?”

The immediacy of the dialogue and the ability of the actors to have fun and ad lib create a great rapport with the audience. There has been a lot of interest already in Bradford’s modified car sub-culture, both academic and documentary, but this theatrical format will stay with me.

I’m Telling You, Check Out Festival Listings

It was only yesterday I was saying that I find festivals really inspiring in terms of the unique and ground-breaking work you can find there. Peaceophobia and GDIF only reinforce this point, although (or because) the two works are so different. For me it’s energising to see things that are so fresh, so unexpected, politically engaged and with loads of young talent. On paper an evening about cars might not be for me. In practice I really connected with Ali, Sohail and Casper’s stories and the messages they conveyed. Plus there’s a final scene which is incredible (no spoilers here).

Just as a side note there is something about unconventional locations that empowers audiences to feel that standard theatre ‘rules’ don’t apply. I’m talking phones. There was a woman in front of me yesterday who must have about 60% of Peaceophobia captured in video clips. If this is something that bothers you, go early and get a front row seat. The only reason I can’t quite blame people for this is that Andy Purves’ lighting design makes even quick phone snaps look amazing. On the plus side of audience engagement there was really good consideration of accessibility, including multiple ways for D/deaf audience members to access the dialogue. I’m not sure if that is always part of the production or is something provided by GDIF but I liked it.

If you have the chance to check out Peaceophobia, please do! Everyone in last night’s audience seemed to enjoy themselves, and supporting the work of interesting companies and community groups is an important activity. If you can’t make it to this, Peaceophobia has been touring so check for future listings. Or have a look at GDIF and festivals in your area and what you can see on your doorstep.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5

Peaceophobia on as part of GDIF until 10 September 2022