Theatre review: The Funeral Director at Home Manchester

The Funeral Director, arrives at HOME as a lauded piece of theatre known for tackling contemporary issues of race, religion, and rights in a sensitive and thoughtful way. Ayesha and Zeyd are a married couple who run a Muslim funeral directors in a Northern town – the seemingly happy couple have undercurrents of tensions brought about by different views on whether to become a family but it is the appearance of a white non-Muslim that proves to be the catalyst for the unravelling of their happiness. Whilst running at just 90 minutes, the play manages to pack a whole heap of relevant topical issues such as the where human rights begin, and religious freedom ends and the tension between integration and multiculturalism. Unexpectedly, the most heart is brought about by questions of sexual identity and its place within conservative religious models. Whilst a couple of suggestions of London and capitalism as the cure to racism and religious intolerance sound off-key, and slightly dampens the effect of the final scene, The Funeral Director is a powerful insight into tensions not always so evident on mainstream stages. The growing tension and movement into a angry defence of his religion from Zeyd (Assad Zaman) is a particular standout.
Until Sat 30 Mar, The Funeral Director, HOME, Tony Wilson Place. Tickets £12.50 www.homemcr.org