Sisters360 – 21 June 2026, Montgomery Theatre
Review by Claire Stanley.
As part of the Migration Matters Festival (now in its 11th year), we were presented with an energetic piece of theatre aimed at youngsters, where two ten year old step sisters, one Somalian and the other Pakistani depict a modern blended family. ‘Sisters 360’ is about the two girls practising for a skateboarding competition whilst simultaneously trying to cope with their parents impending separation. The sisters are close, they met when they were four and in today’s social media world have begged their parents for more screen time to pursue their own YouTube channel, (they even break the fourth wall and ask for subscribers from their captive young audience). The channel can allegedly showcase their skateboarding obsession where they “skate for hours, even when it showers”. Fatima (Sara Abanur) and Salima (Farah Ashraf) are portrayed boldly with both actors skillfully adopting their ten year old personas with glee and vitality. They infuse the innocence of child like behaviour with the naive loyalty of young best friends. Throughout their presentation the chemistry is undeniable and we are offered their views on life that weave with the raw honesty of children. When discussing their skateboarding prowess they confess “we haven’t made it good yet” but of course this does not stop them! In order to depict the skateboarding routines, weeble boards are utilised for the actors to balance on and to showcase choreography that is fitting to the music and action. It is in unison when it matters and really fun to watch. The minimal use of props is in the cast’s favour here as it allows their dialogue to penetrate. The one “feature” prop, a Bat puppet is a device to illustrate a Bat theme (Bats are very useful later), it bridges the gap almost as an intermediary whenever the girls need to discuss difficult times.
So that said, writing for children is not a soft option as the writer of this piece (Asif Khan) ably demonstrates. The story soon moves on from the sister’s light skateboarding intro and the audience are signposted, “See how happy we were in that first scene?” Yes, impending doom…The sisters are told the separation IS happening. Fatima will be moving to London with Mum, as Salima will stay in Bradford with Dad. The girls attempt to prevent this by employing; hunger strikes, (successful until cake appears!), protests “No London, No Peace”, a petition (where Bobby the dog from next door signs) and a general appeal to Allah. To no avail, the sisters say their goodbyes.
Throughout play with their action figures (one is Bat Girl) and the Bat puppet we see how upsetting separation is for children. The two girls have to navigate either time alone or attempts at making new friends, (especially Fatima as she is the one moving schools). They FaceTime of course, but the gap is still there with no opportunity to practise their skateboarding. At one point it would seem Fatima has been successful in acquiring a new best friend but this does not last and the girls really want to reunite. They use the bat puppet to summon other bats to invade Fatima’s mum’s sculpture exhibition so that it cannot go ahead -which COULD leave the day free. Will this mean the Skateboarding Competition can be attended by the sisters after all? No spoilers here. Although puppeteering is a widely used mechanism in children’s theatre I felt that this was too much of a stretch for the elder end of the audience to appreciate and at times it eclipsed the urban otherwise authentic portrayal of blended modern family life. In short, it was not needed. That said this piece has a lot to give, – engaging movement (Rachel-Leah Hosker) and excellent well timed sound effects (Holly Khan). At one juncture during the narrative the girls are issued a letter from their parents in response to their petition, informing them that the split is “not their fault” and the letter box sound is perfectly on point, along with invigorating music for the skateboarding scenes. The set is refreshing and youthful (Erin C Guan) and the two actors have been directed and rehearsed well (Ameera Conrad). The tricky rap discourse was very well timed. Thank you to all for such a diverse and thought provoking performance.
Check out our interview with Asif Khan, writer of Sisters360, at http://www.lastnightidreamtof.co.uk/interviews/interview-asif-khan-sisters-360/
For further information on the Migration Matters festival visit https://www.migrationmattersfestival.co.uk/
