Tanya Ronder’s adaptation of a play by the Pakistani playwright Shahid Nadeem is given an epic production by Nadia Fall. The subject is religious extremism and the perversion of Islam by fundamentalists. The story is set in Mughal India in the 17th century. There are two brothers feuding for succession, philosophically as well as militarily. The brothers represent different attitudes to Islam. Dara (Zubin Varla) is tolerant and humane. Aurangzeb (Sargon Yelda) is brutal and totally intolerant.
Far and away the best and most dramatic scene comes at the end of the first act when Dara is put on Sharia trial for apostasy, which he passionately denies, arguing he is a Muslim who recognizes that there is more than one way to God. The trial scene would be even better if it was not quite so one-sided and if the prosecutor was given equal opportunity to win hearts and minds. Everything that comes after the trial is an anti-climax and that’s the whole of the second act. The fragmentary script is awkward in wording and construction and often feels very artificial.