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The world premiere of Waleed Akhtar’s THE P WORD, at Bush Theatre

The world premiere of Waleed Akhtar’s THE P WORD, at Bush Theatre

A Bush Theatre production

Zafar flees homophobic persecution in Pakistan to seek asylum in the UK. Londoner Bilal (or Billy as he prefers to be known) is ground down by years of Grindr and the complexity of being a brown gay man. Their worlds are about to change forever.

Moving through casual hook-ups to the UK’s hostile environment, Waleed Akhtar’s (Kabul Goes Pop) sharp-witted and devastating new play charts the parallel lives of two gay Pakistani men. This story of who wins in the luck of the life’s draw is a new Bush Theatre commission.

THE P WORD

by Waleed Akhtar

Directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike

Set and Costume Designer – Max Johns

Composer – Niraj Chag

Lighting Designer – Elliot Griggs

Sound designer – XANA

Voice and dialect coach – Gurkiran Kaur

Costume Supervisor – Maariyah Sharjil

Movement Director – Rachael Nanyonjo

Casting Director – Jatinder Chera

See Also

Cast – Esh Alladi and Waleed Akhtar

9 September – 22 October

‘I’m like the best version of brown. I’m not even into Pakistanis and I’d probably hook up with myself.’

Deirdre O’Halloran, Literary Manager of the Bush Theatre said, ‘The P Word is the story of an unlikely friendships in a time where it feels like we’re all increasingly divided, there is something quietly revolutionary about the people who manage to reach across barricades and find ways of communicating. The play started out as a seed commission at the Bush, with Waleed writing a full first draft in just a week and the team was so excited and inspired by its activism, truthfulness, and hopefulness. It’s a queer story that could not be more relevant to Britain today.’

The Bush are working with Micro Rainbow to realise this production.  Micro Rainbow opened the first safe house in the United Kingdom dedicated solely to LGBTQI asylum seekers and refugees. https://microrainbow.org/

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