Ella is from Yorkshire. Haseeb is from London. They order a pizza. House red for Ella. Hot chocolate for Haseeb. ‘I think I’m falling in love with you.’
People and playlists. Christmas and Eid. Travelcards and Megabuses. London to Leeds. Love is more than just a game for two. Especially when there’s an elephant in the room. I Wanna Be Yours is the debut play from Zia Ahmed is a tender, funny, lyrical play about finding love and holding onto it with everything you’ve got.
The show, which is fully BSL integrated, visits the Bush Theatre from 4 December (press night 6 December) following a tour to over 30 venues nationwide. Tour dates can be found here.
Zia Ahmed is a poet and playwright from North-West London. He is part of the London Laureates, having been shortlisted for London’s Young Poet Laureate 2015/16. He is a former Roundhouse Slam Champion and a Writer in Residence at Paines Plough as part of Channel 4’s Playwright Scheme 2017. He is currently part of the Bush Theatre’s Emerging Writers Group and under commission to write poems at Southbank Centre for Free Word. His writing and performance credits include C11 (Bush Theatre) and Fragments (The Roundhouse). Zia’s poetry has featured on BBC Radio 4, Dazed and notable gigs include performing at Kate Tempest’s collection launches at the Old Vic, Hackney Arts Centre, Boiler Room x V&A, Latitude Festival, and the ICA.
Director and theatre maker Anna Himali Howard was Paines Plough’s Trainee Director in 2016. She is also an Alumni Artist at the Gate Theatre and an alumnus of the Birmingham REP Foundry. Her work as a director includes A Small Place (Gate Theatre), Albatross (RWCMD/Paines Plough/Gate Theatre), Life Is No Laughing Matter (Birmingham REP/mac Birmingham), 20B (Birmingham REP/CPT). As a theatre maker work includes Mahabharat/A (Camden People’s Theatre), The Beanfield (New Diorama, National tour 2016). Anna was Associate Director on Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Drywrite/Soho Theatre international tour) and Assistant Director on Othello, directed by Ellen McDougall (Shakespeare’s Globe) and In The Night-Time (Before the Sun Rises) (Gate Theatre).
Emily Stott trained at The Oxford School of Drama and is a founding member of the award-winning theatre company Wildcard (Electrolyte, 17, After Party). Her theatre credits include: If Not Now, When? (Dorfman, National Theatre); The Comedy About a Bank Robbery (Mischief Theatre/Criterion Theatre); Gifted (Pleasance); The Picture of Dorian Gray (Watermill Theatre); Glitter Punch (VAULT Festival); The Kitchen Sink (Oldham Coliseum); Inside Pussy Riot (Les Enfants Terribles/Saatchi Gallery); Pancake Day (The Bunker); Early Doors (Not Too Tame/UK tour); The Selfish Giant (Arcola Theatre). TV credits include VERA (ITV).
Ragevan Vasan’s stage credits include The Village (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Hurling Rubble at the Sun/Moon (Park Theatre), Love for Love and Queen Anne (RSC). His television credits include: Save Me, Fortitude (Sky Atlantic); The State (Channel 4); Cuffs and Doctors (BBC). Film credits include Dumbo (Disney); Daphne (The Bureau Film Company); Walk Like a Panther (FOX Searchlight); The Last Witness (Film Polska Productions).
Rachael Merry is an actor and BSL/English interpreter. A member and associate artist of the DH Ensemble, she is a previous resident artist with GLYPT (Donut Worry R&D) and most recently can be seen as Ellie in DeafFest UK award-winning short film Ava (Grint & Ash Collaboration). Other credits include Librarian in Almost (BSLBT/Flashing Lights Media); Evil Queen in Mirror Mirror (Red Earth Theatre UK Tours); Shiny in Small World (BSLBT/Mutt & Jeff Pictures); Mrs Yellow in Mr Red and Mrs Yellow (Handprint Theatre). Rachael holds a first-class degree in Theatre Arts, Education & Deaf Studies from The University of Reading.
Performances
4 December – 18 January at 7.45 pm, 6 December at 7 pm (no performances 22 Dec – 1 Jan)
Sat matinee 30 November 14, 21 December, 4, 11, 18 January at 2.30 pm
Wed matinee 11, 18 December and 8, 15 January at 2.30 pm
Tickets priced from £10 (concessions available) can be booked at bushtheatre.co.uk or at the Box Office on 020 8743 5050
