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., 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. It was premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2022, directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike, and received widespread critical acclaim, winning the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre. The production was revived at the Bush in 2026, and this edition features the revised and updated version of the text.