The Next Act: British South Asian Playwrights

In episode 8 we talk to Naylah Ahmed, writer for theatre, radio and television, about her plays Mustafa and Ready or Not. Naylah Ahmad is a writer based in Birmingham, who has written for theatre, radio, and television. Before her playwriting and screenwriting career she was an established radio drama producer with immense experience of the development of writers, ideas and story. Naylah began her...

In this episode we talk to writer and filmmaker Satinder Chohan about her plays are Lotus Beauty and Made in India , for which she won the Adopt Playwright Award, the Eastern Eye Best Production Award, garnered an Offie Nomination and a Kalí Futures Award. Satinder Chohan is a writer, journalist, and filmmaker. Her first play Zameen was written in 2008. Her 2017 play Made in India centres on a whi...

In episode 6 we talk to writer and actor Waleed Akhtar about his plays Kabul Goes Pop: Music Television Afghanistan and The P Word. Waleed Akhtar is a writer and actor. His debut play Kabul Goes Pop: Music Television Afghanistan (2022) at Brixton House, was inspired by the true story of Afghanistan’s first youth music TV programme. Exploring a world following the US invasion of Afghanistan the pla...

In episde 5 we speak to writer and actor Neil D'Souza about his plays Coming Up and Out of Season. Neil is an actor, with diverse credits, and writer, for stage and screen. His debut play Small Miracle (2007) was produced by the Tricycle Theatre (now known as The Kiln).  His second play, Coming Up (2015), revolves around Alan, who after more than thirty years returns to Mumbai on business. As...

In episode 4 we speak to Iman Qureshi, writer for stage, screen, and radio, about her plays The Funeral Director and The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs . Iman Qureshi is an award-winning writer of stage, screen and radio. Her breakout play The Funeral Director (2018) explores the life of a British Pakistani woman, Ayesha, who runs a Muslim funeral home with her husband Zeyd. Their already tempestuous...

In episode 3, we speak to playwright and screenwriter Sonali Bhattacharyya about her plays Chasing Hares and King Troll (The Fawn). Sonali is a graduate of the Royal Court Writers’ Group, the inaugural Old Vic 12, and was also a Channel 4 Writer in Residence at the Orange Tree. Her play Chasing Hares (2022) performed at the Young Vic, is the story of a factory worker in West Bengal who is recruite...

In episode 2, we speak to Azma Dar - a novelist and playwright, most known for her plays Chaos and Noor . Azma Dar is a writer for the stage, screen, and radio. She has written several works performed at venues including the Soho Theatre, Birmingham Rep and the Edinburgh Festival, and on BBC Radio. Her debut novel The Secret Arts (2015), published by Dean Street Press, won the New Ventures Writing...

In episode 1 we're joined by Mohamed-Zain Dada, a playwright, screenwriter, and cultural producer. His debut play, Blue Mist (2023), is about three British Muslim men, Jihad, Rashid, and Asif and the Shisha Lounge that acts as their safe place. Jihad, the aspiring journalist, wins a competition to produce a documentary and ends up having to navigate the tension between his own aspirations, and...

The Next Act is a brand new podcast spotlighting contemporary British South Asian theatre makers. www.thenextact.co.uk