Sameer is Muslim and queer. This is the premise of this short two-hander written by Shafeeq Shahjahan and produced by Liver and Lung Productions. The themes in this play are without a doubt important and need to be explored more, and the company is to be commended for taking them on. However, Submission loses its way very quickly. As we attempt to follow Sameer on a disjointed, non-chronological journey from a drug-fuelled birthday party through the entirety of his fling with handsome, non-religious, laid-back Daniel, what could be a sensitive exploration of significant conflict in the context of young love becomes instead a confused and unconvincing spectacle.

Protagonist Sameer and his love interest Daniel speak sometimes in naturalistic dialogue but more often than not in strangely flowery, poetic language which is full of forced metaphors. When they interact without the constraints of these unwieldy texts, they have real chemistry, the physical theatre elements of the piece shine and the audience can appreciate their sinewed, tense intertwinings. However, the spoken word-style elements and monologues alienate the audience as the language and tone do not feel believable. Sameer often addresses his unseen mother, who as a devout Muslim will not accept his homosexuality, in a trope that soon grows old, and it seems that actor Shiv Rhaberu needs the presence of another to be able to truly inhabit the character of Sameer.

As the piece goes on, it loses more and more subtlety. Sameer gives an impassioned but bizarre monologue which probably inspired the title of the play about his being the slave to Daniel’s colonial master, and later it is bluntly implied that Sameer’s struggle with his sexuality is going to turn him to radicalism. My incredulity at these slightly implausible conclusions mellowed slightly when Daniel insisted that Sameer was being treated badly by people not because he was Muslim or gay but because he was insecure, and that he should stop acting like he was being discriminated against, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all just too on the nose.

In the small dark studio space of C Royale’s studio 1, this play is quite intense – and yet it did not move me. The ideas and writing have potential, but this piece was too full of strange wordings and awkward changes in tone to develop that potential any further.

Submission is playing C Royale until August 28th. For more information and tickets, see https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/submission.