The P Word, by Waleed Akhtar, whose play Kabul Goes Pop was a hit at Brixton House earlier this year, opens at the Bush Theatre on 9 September. Directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike (Lava, Bush Theatre), this story of who wins in the luck of the life’s draw is a new Bush Theatre commission.
The cast is Waleed Akhtar and Esh Alladi.
‘I’m not in your Britain. I’m in another Britain.’
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 sharp-witted and devastating new play charts the parallel lives of two gay Pakistani men.
Deirdre O’Halloran, Literary Manager of the Bush Theatre said, ‘The P Word is the story of a chance encounter bringing two worlds together, and in a time where it feels like we’re all increasingly divided, there is something quietly revolutionary about that. 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.’
Tickets can be booked at bushtheatre.co.uk or at the Box Office on 020 8743 5050
