The House Of Bilquis Bibi ** TNT

Mutter mutter, mumble mumble …..there’s something going on here, but for much of the time I wasn’t at all sure what.

I’ve seen The House of Bernarda Alba (Lorca’s classic on which Sudha Bhuchar has based her new play for Tamasha) more than once, but lazy diction meant that neither I nor my companion could make out a significant proportion of what was being said.

Matters weren’t helped by the decision to speak portions of the dialogue in the local language - not necessarily a problem in itself, but definitely an issue when the words are so indistinct that one can’t always be sure when dialect blends into English.

Bhuchar has relocated this Andalusian drama (written in 1936 but first performed posthumously almost a decade later) from Spain to present day Pakistan where tyrannical, twice widowed Bilquis Bibi rules her household of two servants and five unmarried daughters with a harsh impatience. Her spinster brood may have mobiles, but they’re still frustrated by a society in which brides must be virgins and come with a dowry.

Bilquis has already turned away more than one possible suitor – no one’s good enough - and only her eldest, Abida, is currently courting. Or at least, that’s the situation on the surface. But she’s not the only sister craving (or, in the case of Aroosa, actually getting) the attention of this unseen suitor and tragedy looms in this restless hotbed of stifled emotions.

When you can hear them, the lines often impress, but why Kristine Landon-Smith, co-founder and artistic director of this 21 year old British Asian company, has chosen to have many of them spoken from behind a muffling wall is a mystery. And although the move to the Punjab is potentially fruitful, an already static play needs performances of far greater clarity and calibre to make this updated tale of female repression worth a visit.

Hampstead, Eton Avenue, NW3 3EU (020 7722 9301) Tube: Swiss Cottage tube hampsteadtheatre.com
Until 14th August £15-£25 (Under 26s - £10)