Shahid Iqbal Khan’s play explores devotion to life and religion, leaving an engaging impression which wants a deeper character study.
Shahid Iqbal Khan’s Olivier nominated play 10 Nights makes a welcome return for its 2025 UK tour. The story follows the journey of Yasser, played by Adeel Ali, as he partakes in itikaf, a voluntary practice in which those observing Ramadan spend the last ten nights of it living only within the mosque. It’s a brilliant set up for a one man show, itikaf being a practice of isolating oneself from the outside world, choosing instead to reflect and focus on worship.
It must be said that although it would not be a necessary hurdle to jump, Khan nonetheless does an expert job of balancing the religious material of the play. The show felt accessible to non-muslims, whilst also not pandering to them. Simultaneously, it was clear that the show was rewarding to those audience members who were familiar with the religious practices, with some moments of humour being laughed at by half the room, flying over the heads of the other without any overall awkwardness or confusion. The play is palatable, and it doesn’t have to be, but managing the vastly varying cultural expectations of audience members with one actor to do it is a meticulous skill. It’s a credit to both Khan’s writing and Ali’s acting ability that this was pulled off so successfully.
Whilst the play did an excellent job of initially ushering us into Yasser’s world, it struggled to expand it much throughout the play’s duration. The story touched upon themes that felt needed further exploring. Yasser’s complex relationship to masculinity was apparent, but it was unclear whether the play itself was aware of this. When life outside of the mosque was mentioned, it felt brushed over. A little longer spent on Yasser’s memories would have helped enrich our understanding of him as a character, allowing the more emotional beats towards the end of the play to hit harder.
For what it’s worth, there are great moments of discomfort during some of Yasser’s interactions with the other worshippers. Ali’s performance is overall a joy to watch, with his cheeky portrayal of Yasser feeling familiar and inviting. Stronger distinctions could have been made between his portrayal of Yasser and other characters, as well as distinctions between Yasser’s flamboyant inner world and how he presents himself outwardly to others in the mosque.
The play was particularly refreshing in its consolidation of the modernity of the present with a practice steeped in tradition. This was most engaging when handling Yasser’s relationships with himself and to his religion. However, the portrayal of his interactions with social media felt somewhat inauthentic and perhaps unnecessary. This dichotomy could be seen in the impressive set of the play, designed by the production’s director, Sâmir Bhamra. With the projection on the back wall, it sometimes did feel as though the set was attempting to do too much, which was occasionally distracting from the performance, although the inclusion of subtitles was welcome.
There’s a really interesting story of the devotion and commitment to oneself in 10 Nights. Its charm and plot were thoroughly engaging throughout. It’s a unique play, whose perimeters are undefined, something it would benefit from leaning into and playing with some more.
10 Nights is touring until the 8th of February, with dates in London, Derby, Salford, Huddersfield and Birmingham.