The Chosen Haram ★★★★★

Queerness always seems to find a natural home in cabaret and burlesque. Contemporary circus, on the other hand, tends only to flirt with queer expression, channelling some of that fabulous extravagance into the flavour of their shows. However, in his debut work The Chosen Haram, Sadiq Ali has crafted a darker, more candid, grittier narrative using the powerful language of circus, which crosses beautifully into the world of physical theatre. 

This show will stir the emotions of even the least experienced theatre goer. It is a gay love story that touches on the difficult yet important subjects of drug use and promiscuity in the gay community but is done in the most original and expressive way. Many Fringe shows will battle with the subject of money, but Ali has rendered the subject of budgets irrelevant, as the creative diversity and artistic dexterity of this show’s simple yet unbelievably effective production is unlike anything we have seen at the Edinburgh Fringe. 

You could have heard a pin drop throughout the performance as the audience sat completely transfixed and seemingly unable to applaud even at the appropriate moments. The overwhelming feeling was that of tension and anticipation, like something truly momentous in the world of dance, circus and physical theatre was unfolding there right in front of us.