Review: Nowhere (Battersea Arts Centre)

Review by Beth Bowden

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Presented by Fuel Theatre and supported by Battersea Arts Centre, Nowhere is Khalid Abdalla’s first play - and is directed by collaborator Omar Elerian. In the acknowledgements for Nowhere, performer and writer Khalid Abdalla, describes how the ‘play is in search of a space of belonging, and in the absence of a world in which we can safely gather and thrive beyond the fractures of displacement, prison, war and various forms of exile in body, space and time’. Slipping between the personal to global, to political and historical over our 80 minutes together, the black box theatre - or in this case the Council Chamber at Battersea Arts Centre - becomes nowhere, becomes everywhere, and most importantly, becomes a frank space for honest socio-political, historical and personal discussion. 

The play centres on the revolutionary moment - on the second the flame is lit inside of us, and the world begins to shift. What are the things that build up and push us towards action? To push for change? The storytelling is warmly given, driven by open intellectual discussion, and tied intimately to a personal, intergenerational narrative. Khalid begins the play sharing stories of his own family histories and personal connection to the Egyptians revolution of 2011, then explores colonial histories and how they drive inequality over time, and in doing so builds an important comment on seismic crisis, diaspora, and collective grief. What starts as a seemingly personal story about intergenerational trauma, history and heritage, then opens out into a universal narrative - and a collective, restless, urgent call to action. 

Theatre, in this context, feels like the perfect medium to help us to sit in the uncomfortable truths of our histories, and reflect on our present socio-political climate. Khalid lays histories, pathways and truths both honestly and bare in front of us - and he is impassioned, electric and empathetic about his thoughts and feelings, translating them to us in a global, historical, urgent call for resistance, creativity and revolutionary acts. We face multiple ongoing crises in this UK, and also globally, and Khalid’s writing allows us to hold a mirror (sometimes literally) up to ourselves - and see the potential connection, kindness, and humanity reflected back.

What is clever here is that the audience are invited to be active participants in this space - I get chatting to a stranger next to me about collective action, we share our thoughts back with Khalid as he sits in the audience, and at the end we all contribute creatively to an exhibition. It is rare to find a piece of theatre where action is so carefully woven into the work - where art, and the creation of art, is used so clearly as a tool for change. I leave feeling moved, but also feeling more able to speak up, to advocate. 

It is not only an important story, but the craft of the storytelling is both delicate and creative. Nowhere is a really engaging piece of multimedia performance - a perfect collaboration of sound, video and lighting, led by Omar’s direction. The story is told through video feed, projection, and sound, which is evocative at transporting us across time, history and place - created by Lighting Designer Jackie Shemesh, Sound Designer Panos Chountoulidis, and Video Designer Sarah Readman. From the start, the space becomes liminal, and can transform into whatever and to wherever Khalid needs the story to go. It is exactly as he describes in his acknowledgements - a space devised for exploring ‘body, space and time’, and I love it. I find the way the story is told is just as exceptional as the writing. 

Nowhere asks us to be brave in our advocacy for others, is a reminder of our responsibility to each other, and invites us to strive for justice, for peace, and for a hopeful future. I only hope we see more of Khalid’s writing in the future - his voice is strong, tender and honest, and his leadership is shaped by experience, vulnerability, and humanity. In 2024, I think we could all do with more of the leadership, hopefulness and humanity that Khalid demonstrates in Nowhere - and I really hope we do. 

Nowhere is playing at Battersea Arts Centre until Saturday 19 October.

For more information and tickets: https://bac.org.uk/whats-on/nowhere/

Photos by Helen Murray