The P Word: New Edition - Paperback

by Waleed Akhtar (Author)

"Part gay Bollywood romcom, part nail-biting thriller...an uplifting, heartwarming and incredibly funny piece of theatre." -Theatre Weekly

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. In Soho, at 2 a.m., worlds collide-and Zafar and Billy's lives are about to change forever.

The P Word is Waleed Akhtar's sharp-witted and devastating play charting the parallel lives of two gay Pakistani men as they negotiate everything from casual hook-ups to the UK's hostile environment.

Author Biography

Waleed Akhtar is a writer and actor. His plays include: The Real Ones (Bush Theatre, London, 2024); The P Word (Bush Theatre, 2022); Kabul Goes Pop: Music Television Afghanistan (Brixton House, London, and tour 2022); Sholay on the Big Screen (Bush Theatre, 2021); and I Don't Know What To Do (VAULT Festival 2020, Evening Standard Pick of the Fest). His English translation of Alexis Michalik's play The Art of Illusion was staged at Hampstead Theatre in 2022. His short film Lost Paradise was produced by UK Film Council, and he has contributed material for BBC Radio 4's Sketchtopia and Newsjack. He was named Most Promising New Playwright at the 2023 OffWestEnd Awards.