‘It’s vital that we learn about female role models like Noor’
STORY OF ‘SPY PRINCESS’ FEELS RELEVANT TO MODERN-DAY EVENTS, SAYS PLAYWRIGHT
ANNICE BOPARAI turns in a very convincing and moving performance in the lead role in the Kali Theatre Company’s production of Noor at the Southwark Playhouse. She looks the part in her British army uniform.
For those who come fresh to Noor’s story, Azma Dar’s play is well worth seeing. The seeds of the plot were planted in her mind when she first read about Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan in Eastern Eye in 2005 and “was instantly intrigued”.
By now, Noor’s tale is familiar to those who have taken an interest in how Indians made the ultimate sacrifice for Britain during the First and Second World Wars.
Born in Moscow on January 1, 1914, to an Indian father, Inayat Khan Rehmat Khan, and an American mother, Ora Ray Baker (they had met during his travels in the US), Noor had a royal pedigree.
Noor, who was also known as known as Nora Inayat-Khan and Nora Baker, was recruited by Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) to work under cover as a radio operator in occupied France during the Second World War.
The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in countries occupied by the Axis powers, especially those occupied by Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from Britain.
As an SOE agent under the codename “Madeleine”, Noor became the first female wireless operator to be sent from the UK into occupied France to aid the French Resistance. She was betrayed, captured by the Nazis, and executed at Dachau concentration camp on September 13, 1944. Noor was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her service in the SOE, the highest civilian decoration for gallantry in the UK.
Noor’s story is told through a cast of only five. There is Vera Atkins (Caroline Faber) who meets Noor/Nora and seeks to recruit her despite opposition from male colleagues.
Noor tells Vera she wants to be “a normal girl, to fit in with everyone else”.
Vera does warn her: “I won’t lie to you, Nora. Radio Operation’s the most dangerous role in the SOE. You’ll only have 20 minutes to transmit before they trace you.”
Noor asks: “How many girls make it back home?”
Vera tries to be positive: “Some girls do come home, of course. But I must tell you, on average, the life expectancy of a wireless operator in Paris is six weeks.”
Laurence Saunders takes on two roles – Buckmaster, a senior British officer, and also that of the “Professor”, a French resistance agent in Paris.
Buckmaster expresses his doubts about Noor in Churchillian tones: “You know her father was pally with that bald fellow, don’t you? That Indian troublemaker, the one in the toga. Vera: “Gandhi?” Buckmaster: “That’s the one.” Renee (Ellie Turner) is a French woman who runs the apartment in Paris from where Noor sends her signals.
The flashing little bulbs on the floor of the stage are very effective in conveying the sense of top-secret messages being exchanged between Noor and her handlers back in Britain. She is clearly quite skilled at her job.
When it is suspected that her cover has been blown, Noor is summoned back to Britain but such is her commitment to the idea of freedom, she chooses to stay on and risk capture.
When she is caught, betrayed by Renee, she is interrogated by Major Hans Keiffer (Chris Porter), a German officer who is quite taken by the “spy princess” who has become his prisoner. He buys her a feminine outfit and perfume, pours her a drink and promises to “protect” her if only she would undertake not to try to escape. When ultimately he hands her over to his Nazi superiors, her fate is sealed.
What happened to Noor is revealed in a series of flashbacks when Keiffer himself is captured by the British – and interrogated by Atkins.
But that is not the only story that Dar is trying to tell. She wants to get across the rarity of an Asian woman – and a Muslim at that – who believed in Indian independence but was willing to put her own life at risk in order to help Britain fight the Germans.
In the programme notes, Dar says she was drawn to Noor on many levels – “as an Asian Muslim woman and as a writer – the period setting, the moments of suspense, the Sufism, the complex, enigmatic character of Noor herself, and of course her great achievements”.
As she got deeper into the research, Dar said “the play became a creative interpretation inspired by real events”.
“Although it has a WWII setting, the play is relevant to our times. With another
‘For me, she is an iconic, heroic figure’
war in Europe right now, and issues of immigration and race being current hot topics, it feels urgent to tell the story of how a pacifist Sufi Muslim woman was prepared to risk her life to help defeat fascism in Europe,” commented Dar.
“For me, Noor is an iconic, heroic figure, who despite the most extreme circumstances, lived on her own terms and never lost touch with her ideals. As the mother of four daughters, I feel it’s vital we learn about female role models like Noor who can inspire us with their determination and courage.”
On stage, Noor’s last words before she is shot are: “Liberté. La illaha illallah.”
Personally I wouldn’t focus too much on the sociological interpretation of Noor’s life. Her story stands on its own. It’s a play definitely worth seeing.
■ Noor by Azma Dar, produced by the Kali Theatre Company, is at the Southwark Playhouse until next Saturday (26)