Duru invokes the girls’ landscape with minimal details – a bus-stop bench and a school ‘Main Entrance’ sign. Apparently the school is ‘outstanding in all areas’. The teachers do work hard. When Bettina interrupts a lesson on climate change with a question about asylum seekers (only ‘to look badass’) her teacher takes her seriously and gives her a book about Malala. You do realise, however, that school is sometimes a blunt instrument. Mrs L tells Ash to ‘draw examples from her own experience’ – Gandhi and Ambedkar being suitable. The essay on Sylvia Pankhurst is less successful – but is that really because she was a white woman, as Ash believes, or because Ash hasn’t fully understood her views?

What will happen, their mother wonders, if – or rather when – the history being studied is British rather than Indian, and such revered figures as the Pankhursts fall under Ascha’s rebellious scrutiny. The return of this exhilarating production following its acclaimed world premiere at the OT in 2022. The set itself is relatively simple, with the lighting and sound effects transporting the action to a dingy bus stop or a childhood bedroom. They also use smartphones to great effect, whether it’s Bettina showing pictures of the much sought-after hamster to her sister, or Asha being caught out – she’s not listening to Stormzy, she’s listening to an audio book about Sylvia Pankhurst. Strictly speaking, Two Billion Beats is not a two-hander. The hamster appears in the fur towards the end of the play, but is sadly uncredited. Whoever you are, you did a bang-up job.

Ingar and Chadha are true stars in this production. They could have performed with no set, no lighting or sound effects and still held the audience in the palm of their hands. To keep an audience engaged and invested for so long is such a skill and these talented young actors do so with ease and obvious pleasure. The sisterly dynamic is tangible, and their energy fills me with youthful adrenaline – the odd slip up is easily forgiven. A moment when they catch your eye brings you into the heart of their story and means it’s not something you will forget any time soon.

First seen in a 20-minute version in April 2021, as part of the Orange Tree's foray into theatrical streaming Outside, Two Billion Beats is Sonali Bhattacharyya's engaging and vibrant play that explores the relationship between two South Asian teenage sisters as they confront injustice, racism and the realities of growing up.the play authentically captures an era in which coming of age is often synonymous with developing a progressive political stance” Be ready for a lot of laughs, bring your siblings! Have those conversations and please just have fun. The last thing I want is for people to think this play is just about this deep social political commentary. It’s not just that, it’s about a deep familial relationship, it’s about competitiveness, about sibling rivalry, about school kids, Tik Tok, it’s all there. Come and have fun with us! Tian Brown-Sampson helps the pair embody these joined lives as they evolve between the freedom of private hopes and and the weight of public history.