ASIF
KHAN
Actor | Playwright | AIK productions
RECENT & UPCOMING WORK
TARTUFFE - Royal Shakespeare Company.
Molière’s classic is brought bang up to date in this brand new version by BAFTA and Emmy-Award winning writers, Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto (The Office, Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars at No. 42).
Tartuffe has the gift of the gab. A spirituality. A certain aura about him….that comes only when you’ve got Allah on your side, hundreds of Twitter followers and access to the family’s bank account.
Watch the lies and deceit unfold in this wickedly hilarious Brummy satire of faith, family and #fakingit.
EASTERN EYE ARTS, CULTURE & THEATRE AWARDS 2019 - Nominated as a finalist for BEST ACTOR (Theatre) for Tartuffe (& Winner of BEST PRODUCTION).
LOVE, BOMBS & APPLES by Hassan Abdulrazzak
This award-winning show made it's US DEBUT in 2018 at the POTRERO STAGE in San Francisco (GoldenThread.org).
It played at THE KENNEDY CENTER, Washington DC in March 2019, as part of World Stages, presented by the Sundance Institute.
LOVE, BOMBS & APPLES - WINNER of OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION at Theatre Bay Area Awards 2018 (US Debut).
LOVE TYPE D - 'Deepak' in a romantic comedy, directed by Sasha Collington (Amazon Prime).
COMBUSTION - written by Asif Khan
AIK Productions in association with Tara Arts
Bradford, in the month of Ramadan. Latching on to the latest grooming scandal, racists plan to march through the city, while Shaz, a local garage mechanic, desperately tries to keep his business running smoothly so he can marry well. In this combustible atmosphere, his sister Samina is determined to make her voice heard.
Bradford-born Asif Khan’s debut play is a comic take on the combustion surrounding young British Muslim lives in the North today.
Winner of BEST STAGE PRODUCTION at the Asian Media Awards 2017 and BEST PRODUCTION at the EASTERN EYE ARTS, CULTURE & THEATRE AWARDS 2018.
“★★★★ A brave, important and necessary play... If I were running the National, I’d pick up this play pronto to ensure it’s amplified further.”
—The Telegraph
“★★★★ [Asif Khan's] debut outing as a playwright is impressive, bringing clarity and humour to dark and difficult material.”
—The Stage
“★★★★ A triumph: a savagely funny, thought-provoking piece, which lingers long in the memory.”
—The Peg
“★★★★ Asif Khan will be familiar to London audiences primarily as an actor, but in Combustion, he proves to be as adept a playwright as a performer.”
—LondonTheatre1
“★★★★★ Pure magic.”
—Hiive
HAMLET & THE CHERRY ORCHARD - Theatre Royal Windsor. Directed by Sean Mathias.
Young Muslim Voices
A KIND OF PEOPLE by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti.
Royal Court Theatre.
THIS WEIRD NORMAL - A new five-part audio fiction podcast written by Stella Kammel, Asif Khan and Susan Wokoma.
A new five-part audio fiction podcast about seven young actors who had planned to take a theatre show to the Edinburgh Festival. Then the pandemic struck. Now it's June, and for some of the group it feels as if they are faced with a choice. Do they just sit about waiting for something – anything – to happen? Or do they start making plans?
This Weird Normal is based on an original idea by Asif Khan and was developed with Stella Kammel and Susan Wokoma. It is a RADA Audio Production. It was recorded by RADA sound specialists.
Find This Weird Normal on Spotify, Apple podcasts and on all your favourite podcast platforms.
JABALA AND THE JINN - A new play for children and families
Written by Asif Khan
Produced by AIK productions & Turtle Key Arts
Directed by Rosamunde Hutt
We’re in Bradford.
It’s been a few months since Jabala’s beloved Mum died. Dad is a brilliant father, but it’s an effort to get to school on time every day. One morning, when she says goodbye to her house as usual, Jabala hears a voice replying to her in Arabic. But no one’s there. Could it be Mum? Has she imagined it?
With the help of a ‘Refugee Boy’ at school, a Shakespeare enthusiast called Munir, she summons... a Jinn. But this is no ordinary ‘Jinn’, as told in grandma’s stories and Jabala is in for a surprise.
As the day of Eid approaches, events take a drastic turn and Jabala is forced to make some difficult decisions.
Will things come together in time for the celebration?
Using physical theatre, original music and vivid design, this new play by award winning writer Asif Khan tells the funny and poignant story of a little girl’s playful and adventurous encounter with a very cheeky Jinn.
The development of the play has been supported by Stratford Circus, Kala Sangam & The AMAL Foundation.
WINNER for BEST SCRIPTWRITER at the EASTERN EYE ARTS, CULTURE AND THEATRE AWARDS 2022.
"Four breathtaking monologues in a dramatic tour-de-force . . . Watching Asif Khan's riveting portrayals of four deeply conflicted men is like sitting beside a world-class musician who has mastered the pacing and technique required by a demanding and complex piece of music. Abdulrazzak's characters come to life with a breathtaking urgency in Khan's hands."
-My Cultural Landscape, San Francisco
GREAT EXPECTATIONS - Royal Exchange Theatre & Tamasha
Bengal, 1903. Rumours that the British Empire plans to partition Bengal spread and uncertainty is never far away. For one Indian boy destiny is found on the banks of the River Padma before the Goddess Lakshmi. Here a promise is made. Born out of terror or kindness the choice Pipli makes that night will shape his life forever.
Pooja Ghai directs Tanika Gupta’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ GREAT EXPECTATIONS. Pipli moves from his home in Rajshahi to the bustling streets of Calcutta. With an open heart he navigates unforgiving darkness and unsettling friendships in his search for a better future. For Pipli, dharma – the right way of living, is never far away.
HAMLET - in cinemas soon (as 'Guildenstern')
