“Brilliantly acted and superbly written, Bismillah! is one of the best shows I have ever seen at the Fringe or anywhere else. Matthew Greenhough’s side-splitting and touching script shows us an hour in the life of Dean (Greenough), a British Army soldier being held prisoner in an Iraqi basement guarded by ISIS mujahid “Danny” (Nate Birdi). The tone shifts dramatically moment by moment through the banal, the quietly horrifying, and the near-unbearable tension of their fight for dominance, but skilful writing means beat changes never feel clunky or unnatural.

The questioning of both characters’ motives for engaging in the conflict that has led to the play is probed informatively and with great sensitivity through the course of this dazzlingly intelligent script. Greenhough has clearly researched contemporary academic views on terrorism, so much so that the character of Danny should almost come with a citation to the work of political scientist Professor Louise Richardson. That is the intellectual level on which this show is operating.

…a message so obviously rooted in present-day issues… This is a fiercely intelligent, masterfully acted theatrical treat, which prompts tears of both laughter and sympathy.”

“Wound Up Theatre Company tackle ISIS in this outstanding tragicomedy

A comedy about Islamic State might seem to be in bad taste, given the atrocities currently being carried out by them across the world. Yet, in only their second outing at the Fringe after a successful debut with Delusions Of Adequacy back in 2013, Wound Up Theatre have produced a piece of theatre that is sharply written and mesmerisingly performed…

…Powerful, hilarious and gripping – the comedy does not obscure the high stakes of the content. Bismillah! is a daring testament to what a small company can achieve with a bit of talent, intelligence and heart.”

“…Two bold and thought-provoking new plays feature British characters on different sides of the divide. In Matthew Greenhough’s Bismillah! An Isis Tragi-Comedy, Dean, a British soldier taken hostage by Isis, discovers that “Ameen”, his jailer, was originally Danny, a Londoner who has come to fight for the caliphate. The tension comes from whether Dean can find enough common culture to prevent Danny casting him as the star of a beheading video...”

“The young men are talking in an Iraqi basement, but it could have easily been an English pub: Dean comes from Leeds, while Danny speaks with a London accent, a geographical rift no less divisive than their opposing views of ISIS.

“In England, there’s a silly rivalry between the north and the south,” says Matthew Greenhough, who wrote Bismillah! and plays Dean. “I wanted to reframe it alongside the differences between the Middle East and the West: to show that these are all labels.”
Directed by Justin Murray, the production by London’s Wound Up Theatre, which is running this week at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, is a witty take on a number of topical issues, including the alienation of modern youth from society, the lack of understanding between cultures, racism, Islamophobia and the threat of radicalisation.
With hundreds of Britons fighting for ISIL and the UK government considering air raids against the extremist group in Syria, the show couldn’t be more timely.

On the eve of its Fringe premiere, British extremists boasted of a plot, masterminded by ISIS commanders, to attack an event marking the end of the Second World War and bomb Britain’s Queen Elizabeth… No one in the theatre company has any personal experience with radicalism, although the writers did their research to make sure they get the religious references right. “While I can’t understand the draw of ISIS,” says Greenhough, “I can understand very well the disaffection with society that many young people in Britain feel today, and that’s what drives them to this choice. I don’t think this disaffection is unique to
any one creed, religion or race.”…

…Asked what the play hopes to achieve, Greenhough says: “We wanted to to celebrate the idea of personal freedom and things that unify rather than separate.”

But the creators of Bismillah! don’t expect to find any ready solutions to what has grown into a serious social problem in the West.

“We are not trying to preach – we want to be part of a dialogue,” says Greenhough. Laughing with the audience, you realise that the dialogue has already started, and you are part of it.”

Anne Walshe
Outstanding writing and performance tucked away on Cowgate - two young men whose lives have taken very different paths find they are not so different after all as they start to question the decisions that have brought them both to a basement in Iraq. As thought provoking as it is laugh out loud funny, Bismillah is a fantastic piece of theatre and an absolute must see show.

John Leslie Pike
Saw the show today 12/8. Exhilarating and totally engaging. It helps one understand why western neo-liberalism is another religion and why it is divisive. The actors were compelling, the script fast moving. One has to see it and experience it alongside the phenomenal actors

Angela J
Absolutely brilliant. I think all those considering joining a fundamentalist organisation must see this play first. It's funny, shocking and poignant. Actually makes me proud to be British with our institutions such as Wetherspoons and Chicken Cottage. Go and see it and you will get the joke. Three brilliant actors, this production needs to tour the country.