Zoya, a self-styled modern Muslim woman with her head in the clouds, and Leyla, a born organiser who is strong on control and who doesn’t let her emotional guard down, were friends at college. In different ways, both are outsiders.

When Zoya is thrown out by her parents from their home in leafy Edgbaston she lands on Leyla’s doorstep in Balsall Heath, expecting all of the privileges she has grown up with. Leyla, however, knows what the cost-of-living crisis feels like in more ways than one. Both her parents have died and she finds her new family in the people who come to the community centre which she manages. Zoya and Leyla’s experiences and outlooks are worlds apart and it is Khalil, a refugee from war-torn Syria, who bridges the divide.

The story arc goes in the way we might expect. Zoya has truths to face and much to learn, including how to see beyond her own interests. And sometimes she makes mistakes. But there are also challenges that Leyla must face – how to relinquish control to others and how, sometimes, to let go and have fun. The two women can learn more from each other than they may at first think.

As a piece of theatre, Community knows its bounds. The dialogue is familiar, and the treatment of themes stays at a personal level. Issues are raised, but not probed in depth. Occasionally, the pace is slowed and the tone shifted, notably by Khalil’s reading of his moving poetry about Syria’s civil war and of the family he lost in the conflict. Here, the emotional impact of being an outsider is palpable and raw.

The pace of the show means that sometimes words are swallowed by the performers, but we get the gist and enjoy the energy that drives the production through. Sparks fly in Sabrina Nabi’s performance as Zoya, whilst Kerena Jagpal presents a firmly-grounded Leyla, and Sayyid Aki makes an impressive professional stage debut as Khalil.

Community was written by Farrah Chaudhry and directed by Alice Chambers.

Theatres across the country are working to make their productions sustainable in line with the Theatre Green Book. For Community, staff from the Rep have contributed a variety of props including shopping bags, oat milk cartons, prescription bags and a sleeping mask. Flooring has been repurposed from The Rep’s production of Tartuffe in 2022. An electric van will be used to tour the show, whilst data will be collected about its carbon footprint.

Community is on at The Door at the Birmingham Rep until 8th February. For further information visit birmingham-rep.co.uk.