The P Word

'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. In Soho, at 2 a.m., parallel 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. A story of who wins in the luck of life's draw, it was premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2022, directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike. It went on to win Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre at the 2023 Olivier Awards. Waleed Akhtar was named Most Promising New Playwright at the 2023 OffWestEnd Awards, for his two plays The P Word and Kabul Goes Pop: Music Television Afghanistan.