Grahamstown — Add elements of politics, religion, stereotypes, and realities of Muslim identity and femininity to a play, and you get a distinctive, locally infused depiction of a global issue.

"Guzman was fighting for a cause, he became a chameleon of vengeance and the cause became his seductress."

This is how Tauriq Jenkins, writer, director and cast member of Coconuts and Marulas, describes a central character in his play. Coconuts and Marulas, premiering at the National Arts Festival this year, is a "confrontational" play exploring the facets of "Islam and oppression" says Jenkins.

Acknowledging that the theme has been worked before, Jenkins says Coconuts and Marulas "weaves through a narrative that looks at vigilante justice".

This is done by taking the audience through the life of a suicide bomber. Imran (Irshaad Ally) is an engineering student whose role poses questions of how a young, critical thinker could have Jihadist tendencies.

This feeds into Jenkins' portrayal of the character Akbar, who has survived a traumatic hijacking experience and now wishes to seek revenge by sacrificing himself.

Guzman, who has "fallen into the trap of being seduced by the violence", supports Akbar in his decision. Leila, one of Guzman's 'students', discourages Akbar because, she believes, one extremely traumatic experience does not necessitate extreme violence.

Drawing from his own experiences of living in the Cape Flats and exposure to the effects of tik (crystal meth) and vigilante justice, Jenkins has consolidated the complexities of living under occupation and coming to terms with doubt, hope and despair, into a parallel between the Gaza Strip and the Cape Flats.

He shows how trauma can leave a person vulnerable.

"You can't just categorise the journey of trauma, it is unpredictable."

Essentially, the play explores the question of whether a Muslim ought to follow the "law of the book or the law of the people", something Akbar wrestles with throughout the play.