British actor and playwright Asif Khan is passionate that Muslim voices be heard, particularly on stage. Last year he wrote the play Combustion which The Stage called “a surprisingly comic look at what it means to be a Muslim in Britain today.” The play went on to earn a nomination at The Stage Debut Awards as well as many positive reviews. Prior to that, Mr. Khan received rave notices for his performance in Hassan Abdulrazzak’s monologue play about race called “Love, Bombs and Apples.”
After nearly a decade as a working actor, Mr. Khan says he turned to writing because he felt British Muslim voices were not being heard on stage. “I felt I could bring something more authentic,” says Mr. Khan. He has recently moved into producing and has set up his own production company called AIK Productions. “The power to be able to put on work, that’s the way you have to do it if you really want to push something forward.”
Mr. Khan recounts the importance of diversity by recalling one of his cast mates who approached him at the end of a tour. “[He said] ‘I want to apologize because I had all sorts of bad thoughts about who Muslims were. I hadn’t met any Muslims apart from you,’” recounts Mr. Khan. “I thought it was an honest thing to say. To me there is nothing bad in that apart from the lack of understanding, being slightly brainwashed. And not having a connection with someone from that background, so not appreciating what the truth might be.”
