Synopsis: Spun is the story of best friends, Safa and Aisha, both from working-class British Pakistani families in Newham, London. We meet them as they finish university and, for the first time, are forging different paths. Safa is going off to work at a large organization in central London and Aisha is staying in Newham to become a teacher, but both with the promise that they will meet every Thursday. However, when London is attacked one day in July, Safa and Aisha feel the whole world spinning. As extremes from all sides take hold of the city, they each find themselves on the receiving end of questions. Aisha is asked by her Muslim students why they are all blamed for the actions of a few, and Safa is on the receiving end of microaggressions from her colleagues about where she stands as a British Muslim. As Safa tries to distance herself from her working-class Muslim roots, Aisha embraces her identity in order to defend her own. Safa starts to drink and Aisha starts to wear a headscarf and, when police shoot someone in Forest Gate, Aisha takes to the streets to march for an apology but Safa doesn't join her. As they each redefine who they are, cracks in their friendship start to appear and the debates happening in the outside world seep into their day-to-day conversations. When their priorities shift against the backdrop of politics and social change, their friendship ends in a dramatic way.
Date/Time: Thursday May 16 at 6:30 pm
Country: United Kingdom
Title: Spun
Playwright: Rabiah Hussain
Director: Alka Nayyar
In collaboration with Rasaka Theatre