You don't get too many spooky exorcism dramas per square inch in the theatre, and still fewer featuring Islamic exorcism. The danger is that if such subject matter isn't handled expertly, it can result in hammy horror – side-splitters rather than spine-chillers.
But Naylah Ahmed's new piece for Kali Theatre Company weaves a cool and cunning story about a Muslim man jailed for manslaughter after a botched exorcism. The devil then follows him into prison to cause more mischief. What is apparent is that the play isn't simply a schlocky spookfest; it also has a metaphorical dimension with a feared but well-meaning Muslim trapped inside a grim white compound – Islamophobia in a nutshell.
Mercifully, Munir Khairdin's titular hero is also not some kind of Islamic zealot or wailing jihadist. Instead he is a softly spoken man of simple pathos with a burden he'd rather not shoulder. He's as vulnerable and exposed to the heavens as his shaven head, and provides the proud, credible centre of Janet Steel's portentous production.
The focus here is on human drama, with Gary Pillai as Mustafa's anxious, unbelieving brother who has faith in neither God nor his sibling's innocence. In the background, Ryan Early is a young man with a failing marriage and Paul McCleary a prison officer approaching retirement.
As tightly structured as the bars on Colin Falconer's brooding set, both play and production deliver a good few cold shivers.