Speed has been a brilliant success for the Bush Theatre, a play about a group of aggressive drivers taking part in a speed awareness course in a basement training room in Birmingham. Yes, a very prosaic setting but one which is the scene for one of the best comedy-dramas seen in London this year, a comedy-drama which hits notes of psychological horror among the hilarity. It’s kind of The Office meets Baby Reindeer, but with a post-riots Asian-British angle that makes it searing and timely.
The story revolves around Abz, the course facilitator and passionate advocate of road safety, played with Alan Partridge/Travis Bickle vim by Nikesh Patel. The Devil’s Hour and Starstruck man hasn’t been on stage for 9 years - more by accident (well, lots of TV work) than design - but this one was too good to pass up.
