A NEW play about Islamophobia challenges stereotypes and shows audiences what a genuine Muslim family is really like, its Asian playwright has said.
Planet Omar, which had its world premiere at Leeds Playhouse last month, is aimed at people who may not know any Muslims personally, or whose understanding of Islam comes only through news and social media, Asif Khan said.
Based on Zanib Mian’s children’s novel of the same name, the play follows Omar, an eight-year-old British Pakistani who moves to a new neighbourhood with his family, starting a new school, an unfriendly neighbour and a bully.
In an interview with Eastern Eye, Khan said, “The beautiful thing about this young boy is his imagination. He has this wonderfully vivid imagination, and on stage, whatever he imagines comes alive.”
At one point, Omar imagines a dragon for comfort, which appears on stage played by a large puppet, “so, we get to see the world inside his mind, as well,” Khan said.
“That is his superpower, his special gift.” Khan said the play touches on Islamophobia in Britain today.
“It is dealing with the political climate in the UK today, a world where Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred is very high.”
'Our leaders have a responsibility'
Directed by Sameena Hussain, the play also examines how rhetoric from political leaders filters down to children. It references former prime minister Boris Johnson’s remarks comparing Muslim women to bank robbers and letter boxes, and shows a similar insult being directed at Omar in the playground.
Khan said, “That insult, in this play, travels down into the playground, and a child at school says something similar to the character of Omar. It looks at holding our prime ministers to account for what they say, because what they say filters all the way down – right into the playground – and affects an eight-year-old boy.
“Our leaders have a responsibility; their words matter and they should be thought about carefully.”
The cast includes Justin Kendal-Sadiq as Omar, with Umar Butt as the father, Isobel Coward as Charlie, Emaan Durrani, Joanna Holden and Aizah Khan as the mother.
Khan, who grew up in Bradford, said placing a child at the centre of the story allowed audiences to empathise more easily.
“There is an innocence to children of that age, they do not fully understand the world yet, and they are trying to make sense of it. Omar is a boy like any other child, and any parent would be able to relate to him.” He said the perspective of a young British Muslim boy was one rarely seen on stage.
“We do not see it very often at all – a British Muslim eight-year-old boy telling you about his world, about what he feels and what is happening to him. And you cannot really argue with that, because it is his own experience and his own feelings. He is very truthful, and he is very expressive on stage.”
A still from Planet OmarRobling
Khan described how often he faces racial prejudice. “It affects me every single day – even this morning I was upset about something. It affects my family. You constantly read or hear something, or something is said in the news,” he said.
“I feel as though people can say things about Muslim people that they would never say about any other community. It is not even shocking any more.”
Writing the play was in some ways therapeutic for Khan.
“When I do my work, I hope to make the world a little bit better, and to help people who do not have an understanding of Muslims and Islam to understand it a little bit more – to foster a bit more tolerance and a kinder world.”
Khan said he was motivated in part by concern for his own children.
“As a parent, I am worried about my nine-year-old son and the world he is going to grow up in. In fact, on the poster for the show, that is my son. So, in some small way, I am hoping to create a better world for him. People from our community can see the show and think, ‘we are finally being represented’. There is finally a play with someone who looks like me on stage.”
Though Planet Omar is set in London to remain faithful to Mian’s novel, Khan said he remained proud of Bradford and wanted to represent the northern city, which was home to his parents who moved there from Pakistan as teenagers.
“Bradford has had a bad reputation, and, probably still does, in some quarters. There were riots a couple of decades ago that really damaged its reputation. I am proud of the city. I want to represent it, even though I now live in London.”
'My acting background helped me'
Khan recalled a career in the arts was uncommon in his community.
“It is very rare, from my community in Bradford, to go into this profession. But I think it is important we have people there, so we can tell our own stories.
“Quite often, decades ago, stories about communities like ours were being written by others. We should write our own stories, play our own characters, and show the world who we are.
“It is very important for south Asian and Muslim voices to be present in the arts, in the media, everywhere – and for children growing up to see that there are real opportunities for them in these professions.”
His background as an actor helped him with his writing, Khan said.
“Even before I decided to become a writer, I was an actor first. I studied plays from ancient Greek tragedies right through to Shakespeare, Restoration drama, Chekhov, American plays, British plays.
“When you see a good script as an actor, you think this is really good. And so, as a writer, you know what the standard is, and you know where you need to aim.”
Khan’s debut play Combustion toured the UK in 2017 and won Best Production at the Eastern Eye Arts, Culture and Theatre Awards. He won the Channel 4 Playwright’s Scheme Award in 2018. His most recent play Sisters360, was on at Leeds Playhouse and in Bradford as part of City of Culture 2025, has been nominated for Best Production at the Asian Media Awards 2025.
Planet Omar runs at Unicorn Theatre, London, from May 21 to June 7, and Birmingham Rep from June 17 to 21
