Game.Set.Match in Dubai: What happens when friends unlock their phones for each other?

You know those thoughts you aren’t supposed to tell anyone? The ones that you google about quietly over the weekend? The notes no one else is ever needs to see – the ones typed out quickly when you have a little headspace, the ones meant just for you? Well, what if you didn’t have the chance to wipe any of that off your phone and had to instead sit in a room full of your closest friends as they poured over them?

Something similar happens to a group of people in the play Game.Set.Match. The production sees seven friends meeting at a wedding and deciding on a whim to unlock their phones to everyone. The result is a chaotic, funny, if terrifying unspooling of secrets that will make you ask yourself: Does anyone really know anyone?

And can friendships stand the test of brutal honesty? “It cannot!” says Asad Raza Khan, who plays Aamir in the show.  “We are extremely complicated as human beings and our phones are perhaps the most accurate reflection of who we truly are. This does not mean that there are always layers of grey, but some parts need to be kept secret to a) keep the mystery alive and b) not to create confusion or unnecessary chaos! Sometimes the justifications seem too far-fetched even though they might be the truth!”

The play is a take on the Italian movie Perfect Strangers, and while many iterations of it have seen screen and stage time, this adaptation is a Dubai special. “All actors are local.  They are all professional and have been cast fit to the role! Every single rehearsal they add another layer to the character and story,” says Khan.

Especially since humour is such a flexible fiend when doled out in dialogue. “We have tweaked the entire production. We had to make it relevant to the times, to the setting, and also to the characters we introduced in the play. The script took four months to write and all the actors bring in their own flair to the project,” says Khan.

And because there are so many different threads of humour weaved into the composite whole, “audience members will relate to at least one of the characters or one character will remind them of someone in their life”, says Khan.

This play has seen one sold-out run in the UAE already and is back by popular demand. “Two of our cast members sadly moved on to new chapters of their lives, so we had to re-cast them. We also updated some of the jokes to be more relevant to the times,” confirms Khan. So even if you have seen it before, be prepared for a surprise.  

Game.Set.Match runs from Oct 16 to 18 at The Junction Theatre, AlSerkal Avenue, at 7.30pm.  

Friendships are built on the bricks of time and trust, but also have pressure points that can jeopardise the whole structure – would you let the fissure of secrets ruin yours?  “People have secrets, but does not change who they are. Don't judge people based on what they do in their weak moments, unless you want to be judged the same way,” says Khan.

As for the seven on stage, will their (phone’s) honesty be their downfall?