The P Word – Bush Theatre, London

Writer: Waleed Akhtar

Director: Anthony Simpson-Pike

The P Word, returning to Bush Theatre, is simply brilliant. Set in London, it’s a pacey and often very funny two-hander about a couple of gay men who have their Pakistani heritage in common, but seemingly very little else. But beyond the comedy, it’s an intensely moving exploration of profound themes: the difference between love and sex, about grief and loneliness and the difficulty of finding real friendship. And there’s more still: it’s a sharply drawn portrait of what it’s like to live in Britain as an asylum seeker.

Billy, played by the writer himself, Waleed Akhtar, is cocky and sexually confident. He works in fashion. He works out. Grindr provides him with easy hook-ups. Yet there’s something missing. Arriving for yet another one-night stand, he poses, adopting a certain swagger. Even his voice changes – a bit deeper, a bit harder. He’s not going to let anyone hurt him.

On the other side of the split circle that is the stage is Zafar (Esh Alladi). He’s an asylum seeker who has fled Pakistan for fear of his life. He’s awaiting the result of his Home Office appeal, living in meagre accommodation, unable to work, existing on a pitiful weekly allowance. He is cowed by fear and isolation.

The early scenes move seamlessly from one character to another, each unconsciously addressing the same theme but from different points of view. We start to glimpse the source of Zafar’s heartache. His long-standing lover, Haroun, forced to marry at 19, has died. Only gradually do the shocking circumstances of his death emerge.

Meanwhile, Billy reveals an inner pain. Why can’t he ever get a boyfriend? he wonders. An attractive white man appears on the scene. But after a few dates, Billy is abruptly ghosted. He’s passed over for a promotion at work, too. He compensates with aggression.

Billy and Zafar might never have met, but for a chance encounter at a Pride march. It’s not a meet-cute. Billy is binge-drinking on his own and sneers at the naive Pakistani man who stops him to ask an innocent question. So there’s real delight when the next day, Billy wakes up to find Zafar has taken him home and is offering a plate of parathas.

The friendship isn’t immediate. There is much misunderstanding and awkwardness along the way. The one thing Billy doesn’t want to be reminded of is his Pakistani background. He has totally rejected it, barely seeing his family, who only live on the other side of London. Zafar seems to embody everything he hates. Meanwhile,  Zafar has a different reason for not seeing his family back in Lahore. But he is too ashamed to admit his status as an asylum-seeker to Billy. The power of each punchy scene comes from our understanding of what Zafar is really going through, knowledge that is completely hidden from Billy.

The joy of the play lies in the slow development of a real friendship between them, a friendship based on trust that, for Billy at least, he’s never experienced before. There’s charm in the scenes where the pair just meet up to watch Bollywood musicals. Billy hotly denies it’s anything other than friendship. But he grows aware of his envy of Zafar’s experience of profound love, and the scenes start to crackle with sexual tension.

Waleed Akhtar and Esh Alladi are both fantastic, the chemistry between them palpable. Each makes his character completely convincing. Akhtar’s Billy gradually finds a softness and a warmth he’s always denied, while Esh Alladi’s Zafar, released from his loneliness, becomes playful, teasing, creative.

Anthony Simpson-Pike’s taut direction means every word, every move counts. He ensures Max John’s simple set is used to maximum effect, its broken circle forever reminding us of the possibility of separation. Sound designer Xana and composer Niraj Chag produce subtly evocative soundscapes.

The P Word, which won an Olivier award in 2023, remains an astonishing piece of theatre.

Runs until 27 June 2026