©Alex Brenner
There is a moment shortly before the end of Act One of Karim Khan’s captivating new play, Before the Millennium, which changes our understanding of everything that has gone before. Up to that point, it’s been a charming, witty, convincing examination of an established friendship between two women and what happens when an unknown mystery catalyst arrives in the form of a third person and disrupts the balance. Instead, you go into the interval digesting some vital new information and how it alters our preconceptions and explains a few things that we hadn’t quite understood. Act Two then soars to a whole new level of insight and drama and has us gripped until the very end.
©Alex Brenner
But I’m running before I can walk. There’s an almost romantic significance to the important shops of our youth when you look back later in life; particularly at Christmas, when you think of the presents, the food, and indeed the rituals of Christmases past. I never experienced the joy of the Cowley Road Woolworths, not even as a student, but I was well acquainted with the Aylesbury branch, and what a smorgasbord of riches that was! Comparing 1999 with 2025, it’s still hard to believe that we no longer have The Wonder of Woolies, and the Woolworths-shaped gap on the High Street contributes to the nostalgia in this intriguing play. I still struggle to find my Turkish Delight and Chocolate Brazils at Christmas!
©Alex Brenner
It is sobering to think that we are within a few weeks of its being an entire quarter-of-a-century since we all feared the Millennium Bug was going to destroy life as we knew it; doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? For firm friends Zoya and Iqra, life in 1999 is one long round of working unsociable hours at Oxford’s Cowley Road Woolworths, and nicking the pic’n’mix (it’s what Woolies was all about!) For Zoya, it’s a chance to commit to an honest job, to earn some money to put aside for the family back in Pakistan and maybe start one of her own too. Iqra sees it as a help towards funding her degree in politics at Brasenose College, and then hopefully changing the world when she becomes the next Prime Minister of Pakistan.
©Alex Brenner
We’re at the Woolies’ staff Christmas Party 1999, all party hats and jokes and games, and Zoya and Iqra are letting their hair down. Suddenly Faiza appears at the party; she’s shortly going to start work at Woolworths and she introduces herself to the two friends, but there’s an atmosphere from the start. Somehow, she seems to know private details about the two women. Has management recruited her as a spy? Is she going to tell tales about them to the bosses, or, worse still, maybe even to the government?
©Alex Brenner
One of this play’s many strengths is its unpredictable storyline and I don’t want to ruin any surprises for you! Beautifully written and cunningly structured, the play provides a welcome addition to the current hot topic of migration, bringing some insight and intelligence to our understanding. Zoya and Iqra moved from Pakistan to Britain in the 1990s to work hard and contribute to society, with hardly any support network around them. Zoya could speak no English until the well-educated Iqra taught her, on the job. They are typical of the people who put their necks on the line and took all the risks. As Iqra reassures Zoya, “that’s courage, faith, bravery.”
©Alex Brenner
It’s also an exploration of friendship and loyalty, the lies we tell to keep the peace and the sacrifices we make for others. It looks at motherhood, and the insecurities that can detract from the joy of giving life and raising and nurturing one’s children. It considers the extreme damage that abandonment issues can have, when your child wants to realise their dreams by moving to another country, or when your best friend opts for a life beyond your orbit. It’s an overwhelmingly optimistic play; its message is that although you may not be able to change what’s set in the future, you can change your attitude and outlook. You know that old saying, if you love something, set it free? This play encapsulates that in a nutshell.
©Alex Brenner
Director Adam Karim stages the play at a lively pace, eliminating all scenery on the Old Fire Station stage in favour of a sequence of higgledy-piggledy cardboard boxes, all proudly bearing the Woolworths name, filled with toys, sweets, Christmas socks, you name it. There’s some mischievous fun had with members of the audience, with the gentleman seated in front of me being chosen as Mr Edwards, Woolworths branch manager, other audience members looking after the pic’n’mix, and even one person dressing up as a snowman. And, of course, Zoya and Iqra welcome everyone as they arrive before the show starts, wishing them Happy Christmas, complimenting them on their party outfits and so on, getting everyone in a relaxed and entertained mood – all beautifully done.
©Alex Brenner
The performances from the cast of three are outstanding. Gurjot Dhaliwal as Zoya and Prabhleen Oberoi as Iqra interact seamlessly with each other, with their girlish chitchat and jokey movements, comic asides and petty tiffs. Their timing is immaculate, and their characterisations totally convincing; Ms Dhaliwal conveying all Zoya’s earnest honesty and diligence, insecurities and vulnerabilities, whilst Ms Oberoi’s Iqra is the opposite: determined, no-nonsense, with the confidence that a privileged education gives you. Hannah Khalique-Brown’s Faiza is superbly uncertain and aloof, curious of her surroundings; but clearly a well-brought up young woman, tentatively gaining confidence and understanding as the play progresses.
©Alex Brenner
It’s a powerful, endlessly surprising, lyrically rhythmic play that ties up a number of fascinating strands which all hang together convincingly. No spoilers, but, in a nod to Dickens, there’s even an element of the Ghost of Christmas Future! With impressive writing and acting in abundance, Before the Millennium plays at Oxford’s Old Fire Station until December 21st and I trust will go on to have many more runs in the future.
Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!
P. S. A word of warning – if you come to this show, you will lose Whamageddon – but it’s worth the sacrifice!
P. P. S. A quick note also about The Old Fire Station. This was our first visit to this delightful welcoming venue, and I trust it won’t be the last. A small but excellent acting space, superb sightlines for the audience, helpful and enthusiastic staff and a comfortable but exciting vibe. Great work!