nickahad@gmail.com
@NickAhad
The Boy At the Back of the Class
An adaptation of the best-selling Young Adults book by Onjali Q. Rauf. Telling the story of little refugee boy Ahmet and his friendship with a new classmate, the World Premiere is produced by The Rose Theatre, Kingston and Children's Theatre Partnership and directed by Monique Touko. Tour dates, Feb to June 2024: www.theboyatthebackoftheclass.co.uk.
My White Best Friend: North
Based on the Royal Court production by Rachel De-Lahay, My White Best Friend brought together eight of the North's most exciting writers of colour, asking them to write a letter that had been so far left unsaid. Commissioned by Eclipse Theatre, Nick's letter was read at Northern School of Contemporary Dance on November 2, 2021.
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Umbreen's Junction
Co-written and co-directed with Yasmeen Khan, this four episode radio comedy drama was broadcast on BBC Radio Leeds and BBC Sounds in June 2020. Starring Reece Dinsdale and Yasmeen, the 10-minute four episode series was written and recorded via Zoom during lockdown and was an instant audience hit.
Redcoats
Produced by Mikron Theatre Co, Redcoats was a musical which toured from May to October 2019, covering every part of Britain. A four-hander musical, featuring original songs, it told the history of holiday camp Butlins.
Glory
Produced by Dukes Theatre, Lancaster, Red Ladder Theatre and Tamasha Theatre Company, Glory toured nationally from Lancaster to London, Leeds, Liverpool, Wales, Coventy, Scarborough, Hull, Wakefield in Spring 2019.
The production received four and five star reviews and nightly standing ovations.
The Guardian
****
"There is a wit in Nick Ahad's writing and a generosity in Rod Dixon's production that carries you along. It has the best stage fighting this side of the Royal Albert Hall and a keen sense of an old order being upturned."
Yorkshire Post
****
"A state-of-the-nation play of great clarity and honesty...extremely funny; beautifully written and erudite..Timely, intelligent and quietly moving. It’s entertainment with a powerful message that gets you in a headlock, hits you on the funny bone and breaks your heart."
The Stage
****
"This is a brave, bold production that could easily tip into racism while trying to highlight the racial tensions of modern-day Britain, but it doesn’t. Nick Ahad’s controlled, witty writing holds the production together while Rod Dixon’s direction keeps it from spilling into just another Rocky-esque testosterone comeback story."
Lancaster Guardian
****
"I laughed so much my sides hurt, I felt tears welling in my eyes at particularly emotive scenes and I also felt a little uncomfortable at times. I witnessed something very special - and the acting was superb. For a play to invoke so many emotions in just a couple of hours, it must be doing something right."
Partition
Working with director Stefan Escreet, a new cast revived the five star Partition at Leeds Playhouse in November 2018.
The play also toured to Bradford Alhambra Studio and West Yorkshire Schools.
In November 2018, Partition returned to the stage of the Leeds Playhouse. It also played at the Bradford Alhambra Studio and toured Yorkshire Schools.
"To raise awareness of this event through a drama that provokes both laughter and tears and never once feels like a history lecture is no mean feat, yet it’s something writer Nick Ahad manages with brilliant success."
British Theatre.Com *****
"Ahad does not get across his message in a didactic or polemic way – there is lots of humour to sweeten the poisonous pill that is the genocide. The script signifies a real maturity and tender approach to this divisive subject that he has researched in great depth. It is crucial that many people, especially the younger generation, get to see this incisive and powerful play."
The Reviews Hub
The Chef Show
Following a hugely successful first tour, The Chef Show returned in 2018.
Touring nationally, the production visited places including Dorset, Newcastle, Wales and Suffolk.
In February to March 2018 the popular The Chef Show embarked on a second national tour to full houses and rave reviews.
The production won Stage Performance of the Year at the Rural Touring Awards 2018.
Partition
A radio play, performed on stage, exploring the ongoing effects of the Partition of India
West Yorkshire Playhouse September 2017.
A collaboration between West Yorkshire Playhouse and BBC Radio Leeds, Partition marked the first time these two cultural institutions worked together.
The radio version of Partition was broadcast by BBC Radio Leeds and regional BBC stations around the country at Midnight on August 14, 2017.
The stage version of the radio play was performed at West Yorkshire Playhouse on Sept 8 & 9, 2017.
Inside Voices
Invited back to write for Manchester's JB Shorts a second time in May 2017, Inside Voices starred Adam Rickitt, Perveen Hussain, Leon Tagoe, Sara Latif, Steph Reynolds, and Amy Lythgoe.
"Inside Voices is a clever piece of drama in which every character – boy, girl and waitress – is played by two actors. Writer Nick Ahad offers unexpected laughs and some perceptive insights." Paul Vallely, The Independent.
The Chef Show
Touring in Jan - Feb 2017, The Chef Show was the inaugural production of theatre company Ragged Edge Productions.
Set in an 'Indian' restaurant, the production fused live cooking and featured a cast of two playing over a dozen roles.
"While it makes serious and urgent points that speak to the divisive times in which we are currently living, the play is also very funny. Humour, food and empathy – a potent and winning combination." Yvette Huddleston, Yorkshire Post.
Coming Home Together
A radio and stage play commissioned by BBC Radio Leeds, Coming Home Together was staged at Bradford Playhouse on November 17, 2016. It was broadcast on BBC Radio Leeds on Boxing Day 2016.
A time travel adventure aimed at 10 and 11-year-olds, Nick also directed the stage and radio version of his play.
It was restaged in February 2017 and toured to schools in Leeds and Bradford - the first time BBC Radio Leeds had ever staged such a tour.
My Mum The Racist
Written for the first Slung Low Shorts in Leeds July 2016, My Mum The Racist starred Kaya Moore (Waterloo Road) Nikki Helens (Emmerdale) and Joel Stockhill.
A Muslim, A Jew and A Christian Walk Into a Room
In April 2015 I was invited to write for JB Shorts for the first time.
A 'fixture in the Manchester theatre scene', JB Shorts is an invite-only mini-festival featuring the work of TV writers. My play was a sci-fi satire set in a future where religion is outlawed.
SECOND GEN
A family drama set in a British-Bangladeshi travel agency, Second Gen was staged at Leeds Library in December 2014.
Funded by the Arts Council, it was produced by DepArts.
MUSLAMIC LOVE STORY
Muslamic Love Story tells the story of three damaged souls and what happens when hate is your driving force. A story of religious and racial prejudice, Culture Vulture said: "Ahad has found his voice with a play that is sharp, provocative and surprisingly funny."
The play's first run was in 2012. Along with producers DepArts the play was restaged in 2013 and had a sell-out run.
NOR ANY DROP
Commissioned by Oldham Theatre Company Peshkar and co-produced by Red Ladder, this was my first play.
In 2010 I went to Bangladesh with a creative team to interview people affected by floods and then spent a month in the village where my father grew up writing the piece. It toured schools in Yorkshire and Lancashire in Autumn 2011
Essentially a story about how climate change isn't just a problem for 'over there' it proved controversial and got me reported to the Government. Which was fun...
