Liberation Squares

#1d3327
Fifth Word and Nottingham Playhouse, in association with Brixton House, present

Liberation Squares

By Sonali Bhattacharyya

Directed by Milli Bhatia

Three teenage girls forge an unlikely friendship when they meet at a creative writing workshop at a hip new café/workspace which used to be their library. They challenge each other with ideas, Tik Toks, lyrics, dance routines. But when they discover the workshop is connected to the state surveillance ‘Prevent’ programme, they have to fight back. The only question is how? Friendships fracture and loyalties are tested as they pursue different avenues of resistance.

A story of sisterhood, freedom of speech and creative expression, in an era when dissent is being criminalised and the state follows your every move, online and offline. Why does being an outspoken Muslim girl have to be so damn hard?

Liberation Squares is about British Muslim schoolgirls, whose adolescence is as complex, infuriating and joyous as any other teenagers, but with the added complications of Islamophobia and cultural erasure. This funny, playful and deeply humane play puts young female agency centre stage; inspired by everything from graphic novels to real-world youth activists and organisers, it asks what it means for young Muslim women to become the heroes of their own stories.

Target audience age: 14yrs+
Contains sensitive subject matter including references to racism
Running time: Approx. 1hr 30 mins
“the significance of this play [is] immeasurable”
The Stage
“Mesmerising … leav[es] us lost for words”
Theatre-news
““Mufaro Makubika’s smart dramatisation … The clarity of the storytelling enables the six actors in Monique Touko’s supple production to fluently switch race, age and gender””
The Guardian
“Humorous and horrifying in equal measure, the show was a thoroughly engaging experience from start to finish”
LondonTheatre1
“wonderfully directed by Monique Touko”
Afridiziak
“a wonderful look at the idea of belonging … equally as heart-breaking as it is uplifting’.
All That Dazzles

TOUR DATES – (Further venues to be announced)

APRIL – JUNE 2024

12 April – 27 April 2024
NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE
nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk
0115 941 9419

30 April – 1 May 2024
THE NORTH WALL, OXFORD
thenorthwall.com
01865 319 450

2 – 11 May 2024
BRIXTON HOUSE, LONDON
brixtonhouse.co.uk
020 7582 7680

16 – 18 May 2024
BIRMINGHAM REP
birmingham-rep.co.uk
0121 236 4455

ON SALE SOON

24 – 25 May 2024
NORTHERN STAGE, NEWCASTLE
northernstage.org.uk
0191 230  5151

5 & 6 June 2024
CRUCIBLE PLAYHOUSE, SHEFFIELD
sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
0114 249 6000

12 April – 27 April 2024 
NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE,
nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk
0115 941 9419

 

30 APRIL-1MAY 2024
THE NORTH WALL,
OXFORD  thenorthwall.com
01865 319 450 

2 – 11 May 2024
BRIXTON HOUSE,
LONDON
brixtonhouse.co uk
020 7582 7680

16-18 May 2024
BIRMINGHAM REP, 
birmingham-rep.co.uk 
0121 236 4455

24 – 25 May 2024
NORTHERN STAGE, NEWCASTLE
northernstage.co.uk
0191 230 5151 

27 May
KEY THEATRE, PETERBOROUGH
keytheatre-peterborough.com
01733 852992

June 2023

30 May – 3 June 2024
BRISTOL OLD VIC, BRISTOL
bristololdvic.org.uk
0117 987 7877 

5 & 6 June 2024
CRUCIBLE PLAYHOUSE, SHEFFIELD
sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
0114 249 6000

9 & 10 June 2024
NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE
nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk
0115 941 9419

CAST

Munashe Chirisa

Munashe Chirisa

Anashe Danai

Anashe Danai

Lukwesa Mwamba

Lukwesa Mwamba

Kalungi Ssebandeke

Kalungi Ssebandeke

Princess Khumalo

Princess Khumalo

Tatenda Mademombe

ARTISTIC TEAM

Novel by NoViolet Bulawayo
Stage adaptation by Mufaro Makubika
Director:Monique Touko
Set and Costume Designer: Ingrid Hu
Lighting Designer:Adam King
Sound Designer:Ed Lewis
Composer: Tendai Humphrey Sitima
Movement Director: Ricardo Da Silva
Dramaturgy: Nic Wass and Anna Himali Howard
Creative Associates: Zodwa Nyoni, Laura Ford and Angharad Jones
Casting: Lucy Jenkins and Sooki McShane CDG

Funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Arts council england
What’s on
A new creative project for young Muslim women in the East MIdlands

See Me

#000000