Waleed Akhtar’s Olivier-winning play was about love between two gay men and then followed-up with ‘The P Word’. ‘The Real Ones’ tracks a friendship between a gay man and his female best friend across two decades. Aktar looks into this difficulty with emotional bursts and how these characters depict themselves on the edge.
The production follows Neelam (Mariam Haque) and Zaid (Nathaniel Curtis), who are both British Pakistanis from Ilford. They work as cinema ushers, dreaming of becoming professional playwrights, dancing and getting high as 19-year-olds. We see them study, find jobs and settle down with partners: Zaid enters into a semi-surreptitious relationship with Jeremy (Anthony Howell), an older, posher white man, while Neelam marries Deji (Nnabiko Ejimofor), a British Nigerian.
Nathanial Curtis plays Zaid with such a friendly energy, even though he’s struggling with his writing career, a bereavement and him hiding his sexuality from his family. He masks these negative aspects in a way that shows his bravery and humanity. In contrast, Mariam Haque plays Neelam more intensely as she projects her anger on people around her to hide her own struggles.
The themes Akhtar explores are relatable to all South Asians in the audience watching. From inter-racial relationships to hidden homosexuality, he reinforces that in today’s time and age, these issues are still taboo.
‘The Real Ones’ is playing at The Bush Theatre until 26th October 2024. Get your tickets here: https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/the-real-ones/
WRITTEN BY: Nura Arooj
