North West Theatre

The House of Bilquis Bibi

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Sudha Bhuchar
Tamasha & Harrogate Theatre
28 Sep 10 to 02 Oct 10
Oldham Coliseum Theatre

Adapted from Federico García Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba.

In a small town in Pakistan’s fertile Punjab region stands The House of Bilquis Bibi. Inside, a family mourns.

With her husband gone, Bilquis must uphold her family’s honour at all costs – the fates of five unmarried daughters lie in her hands. Her solution: to marry off eldest girl Abida to their cousin Pappo, who is visiting Pakistan from America.

Bilquis turns a blind eye to the illicit nightly visits Pappo pays to his fiancée’s balcony. But as she slowly realises that more than one daughter is staying awake for him, the temperature in the house rises and a tragedy unfolds.

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...there are occasions when the united family sit with their backs to the audience, obstructed from view by a bench... too often actors are not properly lit... the play does not succeed in communicating the desperation of these characters and their situation. The stilted nature of much of the dialogue led to some stilted performances, which disappointingly failed to invoke any real empathy in the audience.
What's On Stage (Rating: 3/5)