Speed E-Book

Mohamed-Zain Dada

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Serie: NHB Modern Plays
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 80

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

'I don't get angry, people get angry at me. In fact, I've only ever sworn once in a car… in English.' In a hotel basement somewhere in Birmingham, three people – a nurse, a delivery driver and an entrepreneur – are attending a speed-awareness course to address their aggressive driving. Abz, a leading expert on road safety and the most in-demand course facilitator north of the M25, presents them with a choice: change your ways, or lose your licence. But the training course quickly veers into a tumultuous group-therapy session as they are forced to confront the real question: why are we all so angry? Mohamed-Zain Dada's play Speed is a breakneck journey through the daily annoyances and deep-buried secrets that leave us spinning. Wickedly comic and darkly thrilling, it was first performed at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2025, directed by Milli Bhatia.

Leseprobe

Mohamed-Zain Dada

SPEED

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Original Production Details

Acknowledgements

Characters

Note

Speed

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

Speed premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, on 4 April 2025. The cast was as follows:

FAIZA

Shazia Nicholls

SAMIR

Arian Nik

ABZ

Nikesh Patel

HARLEEN

Sabrina Sandhu

Director

Milli Bhatia

Set& CostumeDesigner

Tomás Palmer

LightingDesigner

Jessica Hung Han Yun

SoundDesigner&Composer

XANA

MovementDirector

Theophilus O. Bailey

FightDirector

Bret Yount

CostumeSupervisor

Beth Qualter Buncall

AssociateLightingDesigner& Programmer

Stephen Settle

ProductionDramatherapy

Wabriya King

CastingDirector

Arthur Carrington

VideoAssetDesigners

DMLK Video

ProductionManager

Adam Jefferys

AssociateProductionManager

Jordan Harris

CompanyStageManager

Stacey Nurse

AssistantStageManager

Alexander Standish-Murray

SetBuilder

Centre Stage Scenery

ProductionElectrician

Kevin James

ProductionCarpenter

Ben Jones

LeadProducer

Nikita Karia

Dramaturg

Titilola Dawudu

ResidentDirector

Katie Greenall

MarketingCampaignLead

Kelly Thurston

TechnicalManager

Jamie Haigh

SchoolsProjectLead&CommunityProducer

Holly Smith

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Arian Nik, Nikesh Patel, Shazia Nicholls, Sabrina Sandhu, Rachel Taylor and particularly Milli Bhatia.

Thanks to the company: Tomás Palmer, Stacey Nurse, Alex Standish-Murray, Theophilus O. Bailey, XANA, Beth Qualter Buncall, Jessica Hung Han Yun, Arthur Carrington and Bret Yount. And to Titilola Dawudu, Lynette Linton, Daniel Bailey and everyone at the Bush Theatre.

Thanks to my parents, Fehmida and Ashraf Dada, and my siblings: Zara Al Akku, Nadia Dada, Humzah Al Akku and Nadir Dada.

Thanks to Will-Nyerere Plastow for being a constant source of inspiration as a human being by demonstrating what solidarity in action looks like.

Special thanks to Gurnesha Bola for your encouragement and unconditional support.

M-Z.D.

Characters

ABZ, thirty-eight,the lead facilitator

SAMIR, twenty-seven, a delivery driver

HARLEEN, twenty-eight, a nurse

FAIZA, thirty-four,an entrepreneur

Note

The play oscillates between the Speed Awareness and Aggressive Driving course in a hotel basement and a dissociative space that only Abz experiences called the ‘Johari Window’. In the ‘Johari Window’, time is suspended and Abz is caught up in a moment of past trauma without the participants of the course noticing, though they might be activated within it.

As the play progresses, the ‘Johari Window’ becomes more prominent, as a memory getting closer and closer. Abz is desperately trying to suppress the memory. The ‘memories’ are of a high-speed chase that ends in a crash – each one feels more dangerous than the last.

This ebook was created before the end of rehearsals and so maydiffer slightly from the play as performed.

ACT ONE

Prologue

A conference room, ABZ picks up a bouquet of flowers. A lowhum and a brief flicker as ABZ enters the Johari Window for amoment. He finds himself back in the present.

Scene One

The conference room – in the basement of a nondescript budgethotel. SAMIR, FAIZA and HARLEEN are seated and facing ABZ.

ABZ has a small table in front of him, a ‘Keep Calm and CarryOn’ mug. Next to him there is a flip-chart with markers, and aTV cart.

There is a fish tank fixed into the wall with three goldfish in it,a watercolour painting of a fruit bowl by Winston Churchill,and one poster that says: REBUILD YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. ABZ is putting up another poster: WITHOUT RULES, WE ARENOTHING BUT ANIMALS – SOCRATES.

On the other side of the room is a cramped break-room areawith a vending machine, a cheap-looking sofa and a shaft witha small kitchenette.

ABZ Right, it’s just a small group so let’s get into some quick intros. Hello everyone, I’m Abz.

SAMIR What’s that short for?

ABZ Let’s start here.

ABZ points at FAIZA.

FAIZA I’m Faiza Awan.

ABZ – First name only, please.

FAIZA And I’m the CEO of Asia Specific. One of the biggest modest fashion brands in the UK –

ABZ No other personal information is necessary. Where are you from, Faiza?

FAIZA I live in St Albans.

ABZ Thank you. Would you like to go next?

ABZ points at HARLEEN.

HARLEEN I’m Harleen, from Birmingham.

SAMIR (To HARLEEN.) Brummie, yeah?

ABZ Last but not least.

SAMIR Samir.

ABZ And where are you from, Samir?

SAMIR West Yorkshire.

ABZ Where in West Yorkshire?

SAMIR H-town.

ABZ H-town?

SAMIR Harehills, Leeds.

Are those piranhas in the fish tank?

HARLEEN (To SAMIR.) Goldfish.

ABZ Thank you all.

ABZ paces around the conference room.

Driving is not a human right, it’s a privilege. You’ve got to earn it. Why? Because twenty-five thousand people are injured a year. Life-altering injuries.

SAMIR My chacha, Talal, injured his foot in a car crash once.

(Serious.) Never drive in bata chappal.

ABZ Five people die every day because of road traffic deaths. Children, adults, your pet dog. The road does not discriminate.

I spent three years working with The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. RoSPA.

Young lads on laughing gas weaving between traffic, four-by-fours tailgating and flashing like no man’s business. Red lights meaning nothing now. Amber even less. England is falling apart.

Silence.

Everyone selected here has been served fines for a combination of ‘speeding’ and ‘aggressive driving’.

FAIZA It’s ironic because I’m the least aggressive person you’ll ever meet.

ABZ I’d like you all to turn to each other. Go on. Turn to each other. What do you see?

SAMIR Um.

ABZ pauses for a moment.

ABZ – You’re all mirrors. That’s right. Mirrors. Reflections of each other. You see each other but what you really see, is yourself. Warts and all.

ABZ refers to his clipboard.

I can see from my notes that you’re all on nine points. If you were to take the points instead of participating, we’d be revoking or suspending your licence.

SAMIR Nah, like a ban?

ABZ Yes.

HARLEEN The letter I received mentioned ‘on-road altercations’?

ABZ Right, thank you, Helene. On-road altercations is the inevitable result of aggressive driving. Defined as operating a vehicle in a manner that endangers people or property.

SAMIR Why property?

ABZToo Fast, Too Furious has never felt so apt.

SAMIR Heavy film.

HARLEEN I think they might have exaggerated what I’ve done.

SAMIR Yeah, same.

ABZ The police reports would suggest otherwise.

FAIZA I’d dispute anything you think you’ve read about me.

ABZ Do you want the good news?

FAIZA Please.

ABZ You could be in a magistrates’ court. You could be sat at home, without your licence. You could have been fined.

But instead, you’re here.

You’re probably thinking ‘how’ and ‘why’. Who gave me this second chance? But this isn’t the your run-of-the-mill speed awareness course. The stick doesn’t always work, sometimes you need a bit of carrot. I’m glad the DVLA recognise that.

You’re here today as part of a new scheme the DVLA are trialling, designed to help road users who are repeat offenders when it comes to speeding and aggressive driving. And I’m delighted to say that you three are the first to take part.

HARLEEN What do we need to do to ‘pass’?

ABZ Radical listening and meaningful engagement, Helene.

And of course, the DVLA will be evaluating your progress for six months after the completion of your course.

HARLEEN It’s Har-leen. What do you mean by ‘evaluating’? And are all the other participants Asian?

SAMIR Woah, Abinav, that’s a good point, you know.

FAIZA I wouldn’t be surprised. Probably all young Asian lads. I’ve seen too much on the M6.

SAMIR Abishek, is it all aapneh?

ABZ grabs the TV cart and wheels it over tothe centre.

ABZ Okay. Can we stop the side-bar conversations, please. This short video will clarify everything.

He turns on the TV and starts the video. Onthe TV screen, ABZ appears, walking towardthe camera on a quiet side street.

(On the TV.) Welcome to the Driving and Licensing Agency’s new pilot scheme: Rehabilitating and Unlearning. The National Driving Initiative. R.U.N.D.I.

(To the group.) That’s me.

(On the TV.) You have probably attended one of the National Speed Awareness Courses either online or in-person because you have exceeded the speed limit in a zone where the speeding restrictions have been clearly marked.

This is usually a two hour and forty-five-minute course. R.U.N.D.I. is an all-day course.

SAMIR (To HARLEEN.) These lot need to change the name.

ABZ Focus please.

The video cuts to ABZ standing behind a carboot.

(On the TV.) So what is R.U.N.D.I.?

SAMIR tries to stop himself from laughing.

FAIZA What’s so funny?

HARLEEN (To SAMIR.) Hold it together.

ABZ (On the TV.) It’s a brand-new pilot scheme being trialled by the DVLA to rehabilitate aggressive drivers.

ABZ is sat in a car, revving an engine.

(On the TV.) We know as much as you do, that there is probably a lot more bubbling away under the surface when you’re driving. From issues at home to problems with your boss. Life can be hard.

ABZ opens the bonnet of the car. He sniffsthe engine.

Can you smell that engine oil? We want to get inside of you and find out what the problem is. So after we’re done, you can keep calm and drive safe.

ABZ squatting near a tyre holding a wrench.

You’re probably wondering who I am? I’m Abz. And I’m a speed-awareness facilitator and an anger management specialist.

So welcome to R.U.N.D.I. You’re lucky enough to be one of the one hundred participants to trial this scheme.

Get ready for your personal driving MOT. Let’s go!

An image of the R.U.N.D.I. logo.