About a spy: Review of the play Noor
No matter how old you get, spy stories are always cool. The drama, the intrigue, the fashion, the thrill; it’s all so captivating that its easy to forget that it is essentially a game of life or death. As an Asian woman then, the story of Noor Inayat Khan is particularly exciting. Noor is the only known female south Asian spy. But she was also a princess (descent of Tipu Sultan - an Indian ruler who was a real thorn in the side of the British) and children’s story author. She served the British during World War Two, as a wireless operator sent to occupied France to aid the French resistance by using a radio transmitter to pick up enemy messages and transmit them back to London.
Noor was awarded the prestigious George Cross "for acts of the greatest heroism in circumstance of extreme danger” and last year was honoured with a blue plaque at her wartime London home - the first Indian-origin woman to receive one. News of a play telling Noor’s story then, was met with great enthusiasm. The push for diversity is seeing many wonderful stories coming to life in theatres across the UK, like Silence, a play about the lives of ordinary people during partition and The Father and the Assassin, a National Theatre performance about Mahatma Gandhi’s killer. Noor is produced by Kali Theatre, a production house that presents stories by women and non-binary writers of south Asian descent, and shown at the Southwark Playhouse, a theatre that showcases new and emerging work.
The cast includes Annice Boparai, Caroline Faber, Chris Porter, Laurence Saunders and Ellie Turner. Set across a single, unchanging stage with few props, the work of carrying the story forward and setting the scene falls to the actors and whilst they do a stellar job of pulling the audience along with them, it does take a little time before the transitions flow with ease. Lead star, Annice is captivating and commands attention in every scene she is in. Both Caroline, who plays Noor’s British handler Vera and Chris Porter, who plays Noor’s German captor imbibe their performances with compassion and understanding, giving grace to the grey struggles their characters face, bringing to light the important recognition that for ordinary individuals, war brings forth personal dilemmas that are very rarely black and white.
Caroline Faber and Chris Porter
The play beautifully highlights both the terrifying reality and outstanding life-saving work being a spy is. However, whilst watching it you get the yearning sense of wanting to know more about Noor personally. Her likes and dislikes, guilty pleasures and secret fantasies because as interesting as her story is, perhaps what is more captivating is her why. What drives a woman of colour, who is instantly distrusted for her brown skin, and who is passionate about Indian independence, to join her British oppressors in their war against Nazism in Europe? What this does do though, is allow you to step into the role yourself. As war wages in Europe at the moment and racist rhetoric becomes louder, it leaves us not only admiring Noor for her courage and determination but asking ourselves, what would we do?
The play’s director, Poonam Brah says, “It is vital to me to be part of sharing her story – not just as a chapter in history, but in terms of how it speaks to British life right now. It re-frames the traditional narratives about who fought for our freedom in WWII and what they were defending, and represents the contribution both of the women agents of the SOE and people of colour to fighting WWII, connecting us all to our shared history and our sense of belonging in the UK.”
This pivotal piece of theatre is on at the Southwark Playhouse till 26th November. Get your tickets here.
