Review: THE P WORD at Bush Theatre

Stuart King 1 June, 2026, 23:59

Featuring performances by the the play's author Waleed Akhtar as Billy, and Esh Alladi as Zafar, THE P WORD opened for a limited re-run last evening at Bush Theatre in West London. This follows previous outings which resulted in the 2023 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre. So what do you need to know and more importantly, does the play live up to its impressive credentials?

Esh Alladi (Zafar) and Waleed Akhtar (Billy) in The P Word at Bush Theatre. © Craig Fuller

What starts as a simple tale about a gay British Pakistani guy who plays to his swarthy looks and gets plenty of anonymous, fairly indiscriminate sex via the apps, morphs into a tale of loneliness and how compassion can ultimately trigger the blooming of an unlikely friendship and perhaps, just perhaps, something much more.

While Bilal (which he has anglicised to Billy) frets over the fecklessness of fashion (“I sell tank-tops to teenagers”), Zafar contends with having to escape his murderous father, abandon his mother and homeland and attempt safety by claiming asylum in the UK where he knows no-one, has no friends, job, money, or legal right to remain. The threat of imminent deportation while his application is being processed, hangs over him and yet he can still find time and love in his heart, to help a stranger in need. If there were ever a moral for the modern age in the era of Trump and rabid, ostentatious greed and selfishness, it is here.

First and foremost THE P WORD is a story about modern Britain. It's also about race, culture and history. It's about belonging, while also about being othered and not fitting-in. It traverses sticky matters like politics, family, religion, society, acceptance, love and even Bollywood and Brighton Beach. For all the broad spread of potential talking points, the strength of the piece lies in its conversational exchanges during which a rhythm and harmony develops between the two central characters — however unlikely such a prospect may initially seem to us, or indeed, to either of them.

On a simple set of split and tilted halves of a giant circular drum designed by Max Johns, Director Anthony Simpson-Pike has teased-out the comedy and playful nuances of the pacy script, enabling us to indulge in optimism as we root for this unlikely couple. Both actors land hugely funny lines and moments of genuine pathos during the evening, sufficient to render the play's Olivier award more than well deserved.

THE P WORD runs 90mins straight through without interval and is set to continue its run at Bush Theatre until 27th June.