Mustafa Tours to Royal Exchange Studio, 26 April

Mustafa – the latest play from Bruntwood Prize winning writer Naylah Ahmed – comes to The Studio at the Royal Exchange Theatre later this month as part of a national tour.

Billed as supernatural thriller with a modern twist, the play tells the story of Mustafa, in prison for the death of a teenage boy during an exorcism.

Racked with guilt at the loss of an innocent life – and isolated in a world where his beliefs are constantly challenged – he tries to avoid trouble. But when prisoners who taunt him suffer mysterious injuries and prison officers start behaving strangely, Mustafa starts to think the evil spirit he tried to banish from the young victim’s body is still with him and he must face it once more.

Is Mustafa the deluded killer of a teenager or a brave innocent man who risked his life to deliver the boy from a dangerous being?

Birmingham writer Ahmed has written and produced plays for BBC Radio 4 and is the founding script editor for Silver Street on the BBC Asian Network. She won the 2008 Bruntwood Prize at the Royal Exchange Manchester for her play Butcher Boys and co-wrote the 2009 production of These Four Streets for Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Naylah has also written for television including the Scottish soap River City and published short stories with Tindal Street Press.

Kali Theatre develops and presents original and thought-provoking new
theatre writing by South Asian women. Over the past nineteen years, the
company has established a reputation for high quality productions that
entertain, excite and inspire, touring across Britain to venues such as
Birmingham Rep, Coventry Belgrade, Plymouth Drum, West Yorkshire
Playhouse, Contact Theatre and Soho Theatre.

Mustafa is presented by Kali Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. The play is directed by Janet Steele and music has been composed by Arun Ghosh. It runs at the Royal Exchange Studio from 26 – 28 April.