Review: INVISIBLE at Bush Theatre Studio

Stuart King 25 May, 2023, 23:01

An actor whose favourite sister died aged eleven and who struggles to maintain a relationship with the mother of his daughter, recounts through humour and anger, the tribulations of being unseen.

Nikhil Parmar in INVISIBLE at Bush Theatre. Photo credit Henri T.

His lived experience and view of himself as a non-white British actor is constantly undermined by society and especially the specific industry he has chosen, where being brown is neither appreciated, marketable nor cast-able (at least not in lead roles).

Written and performed by Nikhil Parmar, INVISIBLE’s central character Zian (Hindu name meaning life and strong, but which is constantly mispronounced as Zain) is a garrulous and intelligent wannabe James Bond who has been shaken and stirred by the constant pushbacks and now possesses a sizeable chip on his shoulder. Others see him as a failure and disappointment as he resorts to taking catering jobs and selling weed to make ends meet as his rent goes unpaid for months. The stream of consciousness flows thick and fast, punctuated by physical rewinds, wry asides and smart-arsed digs at stereotypes — which in many ways (and with a little fleshing-out) could serve as a TV sitcom and potentially bring to our small screens a caustic and relatable anti-hero for our times.