Desperate Times
Meet Lucky, a bored and lonely supply teacher with a compulsion for petty theft. She feels invincible, until she spins a lie too big to outrun. As she scrambles to keep up the performance, the line between reality and imagination blurs, pulling the audience into her chaotic world. But how long can Lucky keep up the act?
- Rating: 4.73 / 5 (35 reviews)
Reviews
- Amal Yusuf — ★★★★★ (5/5) — May 6, 2025
I had the pleasure of attending this powerful and incredible performance three weeks ago, and it’s still on my mind. The performance featured just one actor (Lucky), which made it all the more impressive, every emotion, shift in character was spot on. The play follows the story of a Somali girl who lives a double life: a teacher and a shoplifter. As the layers of her story slowly unraveled, the audience was drawn deeper into her world, her contradictions, and ultimately, the moment where her lies catch up with her. It was emotional, and incredibly well executed. One of my favorite parts was the Q&A at the end. It was fascinating to hear about the inspiration and process behind the story. A truly memorable experience. - Zainab R — ★★★★★ (5/5) — May 5, 2025
I was in stitches the whole time. Incredible performance by Nadjma with a script that leaves you on edge. Well done to the whole team. More of this please! - H W — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 28, 2025
I loved this show. One of the best and definitely the funniest plays I’ve ever seen. Incredibly talented team behind this and so much respect to the ethos behind it all, especially supporting Black Somali work. Genuinely so refreshing and such a joy to watch. We need more theatre like this! - Maryam Ali — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 28, 2025
The show surpassed all my expectations! Was beautifully written and I just couldn’t stop laughing. Really excited for the web series - Alia omar — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 26, 2025
It was a fantastic performance that had me laughing throughout the show. It is a must see! - Sabrina Si — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 26, 2025
Haven’t laughed out loud like this in a long time! Very impressive to see such depth and humour tied together so well - fantastic writing, production and acting all around. It’s great to see new stories from diverse characters, representation of silly behaviour from all! - Hena Pasic — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 26, 2025
The funniest play i’ve seen in so so long ! Lucky is such an interesting and captivating character, you can’t stop rooting for her and laughing with her. The humour is so clever and quick. I can’t wait to see what’s next for the writer Amal ! 10/10 - Mimi Hajisaid — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 26, 2025
The show was exceedingly hilarious, relatable & charming. Najma, the actress, did a fantastic job by conveying a range of emotions & engaging with the audience. I appreciated the diversity & representation SidEye production included. I can’t wait for the next play written by writer Amal; this was so much fun! - Ishwaaq Hassan — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 25, 2025
The show was absolutely incredible. Watched one of the Bristol shows in late 2024 and recommended it to my friends, and once they found out about the new London shows, we jumped at the chance to book tickets.The actress did an incredible job and the story was phenomenal. It was hilarious and throughly entertaining.Do not think a minute went by where we weren’t near tears with laughter. Absolutely love the work that sideye productions do to platform Somali creatives and stories. - Katie Twist — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 25, 2025
The most incredible show with an amazingly talented team. So much laughter and fun! - Hani Ismail — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 25, 2025
Nadjma is genuinely one of the best actresses I have ever seen, she has so much range and really managed to captivate a whole audience of people. The writing was amazing too, it did so much for diversity and representation! Thank you to the whole team <3 - Kafia Omar — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 25, 2025
Brilliant show - lots of laughs, wonderful acting and writing. A great way to spend a friday night - Hamda Hassan — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 25, 2025
Amazing show. - Maysa Omar — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 25, 2025
So much fun! This one woman show is definitely a must watch - Maryam Hassan — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 25, 2025
Amazing performance, great acting and had a great laugh!! - Najma Tesfaye — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 25, 2025
Hilarious performance and engaging! Sad to hear it will be their last! Najma did amazing 5/5! - Jerome Thomas — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 25, 2025
The belly laugh that I laughed watching this show! Would definitely go again - Ayaan Qeyre — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 24, 2025
A fantastic show from beginning to end. Amazing atmosphere and a talented sister who interacted with guests. Would deffo watch it again - aliya muse — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 24, 2025
AMAZING - Huda Muhadin — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 24, 2025
I really really enjoyed it. Najma was so expressive and entertaining. I laughed more than I thought I would. 10/10 would recommend!!! - Zanda emlano — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 24, 2025
Absolutely amazing show! Perfect comedic timing, brilliant writing and overall a show well worth seeing! Done bits for black and brown culture!! - Ridwan Yusuf — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 24, 2025
Truly a brilliant shows. Love how it references current events. - Ayomide Adesina — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 24, 2025
10 / 10 showing, I’ve seen this 4 times and each time has been better than the last. - Iqro Abdi — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 24, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyed the show, from start to finish. Would recommend to everyone I know - Hana A — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 24, 2025
Such a talented sister, smiled the entire show !!! - A H — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 23, 2025
Absolutely fantastic show. Brilliant representation of cultural references. Lucky was so relatable but also extremely hilarious. - Fatima Hassan — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 23, 2025
Fantastic show! I really enjoyed the cultural references and the auntie impression. Lucky’s continuous deception followed by the humiliating confrontation is an honest reflection of easy it is to hide behind a facade with the false hope of acceptance. Great show and I hope to see more of these in the future! - F H — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 23, 2025
It was amazing writing with brilliant acting. Lucky was relatable and funny, yet serious enough to make the audience think and sympathise with an issue we’ve never thought much about. The cultural references along with the internet brain rot made it all the more enjoyable and I can’t wait to see what else this team comes up with. - last furst — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 23, 2025
Incredible show! Najma is super talented and her improvisation/interaction with the audience really makes the show. - Nawal Ally — ★★★★★ (5/5) — April 23, 2025
Amazing !!!!!