One table. Four plates. Three glasses. Two chairs. 

These are the tangible objects that Abdullah (played by Anzio September) focuses on during one of the most harrowing moments of Zubayr Charles’ Please, Don’t Call Me Moffie. 

The scene in question, in which Abdullah takes us back to his childhood where he was the victim of both homophobia and molestation by his father, is framed by a potent red light and delivered by an actor who is dedicated to this performance. As he pulls his pants down and thrusts into the table, September’s actions are graphic and deeply uncomfortable to witness. 

Charles utilises the feelings that scenes like this inspire throughout the play, resulting in a striking piece that cuts to the heart of the subject matter it tackles. The visual imagery is arresting and stays with you long after the curtain falls (or in this case, the overhead lights are switched on): from the use of lighting to create five distinct characters and scenes to the final, haunting image of Mushfeeq’s corpse covered by the sheet.

What really stands out about this play is the characterisation that September embodies in this one-man performance. From the moment you walk into the hall, he is on stage and in character, the story alive before it has even started. With every costume change visible on stage, he slips into the next character, fully embodying the intricacies of their different movements before the next scene begins. 

September simultaneously captures the archetype each character is built on while still highlighting their nuance as individual people with individual stories. The result is a performance that actively challenges and subverts those very archetypes, as Charles intends, presenting us not with types but with fully realised and deeply human characters whose lives we get only a small glimpse into – nothing more than a scene each.

All in all, Charles and September have absolutely outdone themselves with this piece. Something like this doesn’t work unless you have a brilliant writer to pen the scenes in the way it must be done and an equally talented actor dedicated to fully embodying the story.