Norm and Ahmed is a collection of plays that showcase a society at the brink of collapse as a new societal order comes to life. The play also showcases its undying need for change during a time of war and mass uncertainty. Mostly set in an Australian background, the plays tackle different themes but relatively roam in a designated area of social class, politics, race, isolation, censorship, and everyday life. The ideas highlighted are controversial but the author manages to combine these sensitive matters with a bit of comedic relief to make them more bearable to the audience.
One of the main things to stand out is the great emphasis on Australian descent. Almost all these characters and their settings are Australian. The author doesn’t hesitate to flaunt this Australian heritage through mundane things such as everyday life. In the title play, Norm is challenged by his emotions because he feels some type of way about foreigners whom he sees as invaders who have come to disrupt their way of life with their different cultures and way of thinking. Ahmed, on the other hand, asserts Norm’s concerns by being the complete opposite of him. The author does a spectacular job of portraying these two young boys as they navigate their differences. Despite the characters being children, the author provides them with full-grown personalities that often come at odds with one another.
Considering the plays were set in the 1960s after the war, people were still getting used to experiencing different cultures as the war-displaced a lot of people. Through these experiences though, these characters learn more about the world than they would have if they had just stayed where they were born all their lives. While Norm feels like his Australian heritage is under attack, he should also realize that his forefathers did not originate from the lands he now claims as his own. He, too, is an immigrant just like Ahmed, searching for where they belong in this world.
