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Thursday 15 September 2022

Theatre review: The P Word

Waleed Akhtar's two-hander at the Bush is about gay Pakistani men in their thirties, so the title The P Word could refer to a couple of different slurs; they get called both of them over the course of 90 minutes although it's the racially-charged one which features more, and which at times becomes a bone of contention between the pair. Akhtar himself plays Bilal, a second-generation British Muslim whose parents theoretically accept his sexuality, but with a level of tutting and undisguised hope that it might be a "phase" after all, that's left the family relationship sour. It's fractious, but it's a level of family peace asylum seeker Zafar (Esh Alladi) could only dream of: He's fled Pakistan in secret after his father discovered his sexuality and threatened to kill him. He's got connections in the army and the threat's no idle one: He did murder Zafar's boyfriend when he caught them together.

Billy (he prefers it to Bilal, which he thinks is "a fat schoolboy's" name,) works in fashion for a company that's put him in charge of their Pride promotions. Zafar has been convinced by his support group to go to Pride as part of proving his case for asylum to the Home Office.


Through a slightly convoluted series of mishaps they get to know each other there, and become friends despite their differences. The P Word is in large part a story of people who save each other in some way: Zafar has been dealing with hatred of his sexuality and fear that it'll get found out all his life, and is currently in a much more tangible risk because of it. Bilal's hatred is much more internalised, and more to do with his race: He's comfortable in his sexuality but only does Grindr hookups, and only with white men who invariably turn out to have a fetish of being dominated by an Asian man - and he can't figure out why he can't find a relationship.


Max Johns' set is a simple but dramatic revolve, bisected into opposing slopes, and Anthony Simpson-Pike's production begins with the two actors sticking strictly to their half of the circle and their very different experiences, until they meet and their life experiences start to affect each other. It's a really engagingly written and performed relationship, funny and believable, and with the huge dramatic peril of Zafar's asylum appeal hanging over the story, I liked Akhtar resisting the temptation to throw in too many other obstacles to their friendship.


I think I'd have preferred it if it had been kept unambiguously as a friendship (will they/won't they is such a universal trope that "they won't" always feels the bolder choice to me) but I can see how it's important to Bilal's character arc. And a final breaking of the fourth wall to remind us most similar stories don't get a Bollywood happy ending feels rushed - and unnecessary, as the recording of Priti Patel crowing about making it easier to deport vulnerable people back to Pakistan that plays as the audience exits does the job perfectly well. But it's the only thing that feels like it didn't get enough time: As well as the central issues of LGBTQ asylum seekers' treatment, and how multiple types of discrimination feed self-hatred, there's also a discreet but noticeably angry underlying thread about corporations that talk the talk when courting the Pink Pound, but don't walk the walk with regard to keeping their LGBTQ customers safe. It helps add depth to a confident and rounded piece.

The P Word by Waleed Akhtar is booking until the 22nd of October at the Bush Theatre's Holloway.

Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes straight through.

Photo credit: Craig Fuller.

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