The Special Relationship
Soho Theatre, London W1
★★★★
When Hassan Abdulrazzak began interviewing British people who had been deported from America, his plan was to use it as the starting point for a play. Yet he realised he couldn’t embroider their accounts. This urgent drama deftly braids together six verbatim tales of deportation. We see the divorcee (Moyo Akande) who, after 20 years in the US, committed one too many driving violations; the Irishman (Fergal McElherron) convicted of minor drugs offences, who just wants to see his daughter again; the dour Sunderland man (Duncan Wisbey) who murdered his girlfriend. Lest this should feel too dry, Wisbey also pops up as a gurning Donald Trump, tripping the surreal fantastic with Theresa May (a hilariously robotic Miranda
Theatre and dance reviews: The Special Relationship; Women Beware Women; Revisor
The Sunday Times
Sobering and powerful: The Special Relationship
TRISTRAM KENTON
