The Real Ones Tickets

The Real Ones in London has a talented creative team, including director Anthony Simpson Pike and writer Waleen Akhtar, who worked together on the Olivier Award-winning play, The P Word.

“One of the greatest things about The P Word was the audience. I’d love to have them come back and see this play as well – it touches on queer themes and perspectives that we don’t always see. I don’t think the relationship between a queer man and his straight female best friend is really explored and I wanted to give that some sort of depth,” Akhtar said.

The creative team also includes sound designer Xana (Strange Fruit), set and costume designer Anisha Fields (Little Prince), lighting designer Christopher Nairne (Infamous), video designer Matt Powell (Rent), movement director Iskandar Sharazuddin (The Bleeding Tree), and intimacy director Robbie Taylor Hunt (You).

What to watch for

• In addition to being a writer, Waleen Akhtar is also an actor who has appeared in various television and film projects, including Cruella and The Great. He also starred in his play, The P Word.
• Costume designer Anisha Fields and lighting designer Christopher Nairne have previously worked together on Blackout Songs at Hampstead Theatre.
• Waleen Akhtar and Anthony Simpson Pike's, The P Word was a success with audiences and critics earning a 5-star review from Time Out that said, "Akhtar is so adept at mingling stinging political critique and carefully-crafted storytelling that he makes it look easy, but it's really not. Plays like this are rare, and this story deserves to have a wide audience fall in love alongside its awkwardly blossoming protagonists.
• Anthony Simpson Pike directed Lava, another production at the Bush Theatre; he was nominated for Best Director at the Black British Theatre Awards.