Purchase Karim Khan’s award-winning script here.
“Ah shucks – there are times in plays when you realise you’re listening to dialogue penned by a complete natural, who is almost inevitably going to be kept in the bright lights of the screen – where the opportunities are richer and more lucrative. That’s the sensation watching rising star Karim Khan’s brilliant Brown Boys Swim” (What’s on Stage)
Best friends Mohsen and Kash are gearing up for the biggest night of their lives – Jess Denver’s pool party. There’s just one problem… they can’t swim.
Fuelled by halal Haribo and chicken wings, the pair throw themselves in at the deep end, tackling cramped cubicles and cold showers as they learn how to be at one with the water. Fierce, funny, and brimming with heart, Karim Khan examines the pressures faced by young Muslim men in this exhilarating new play about fitting in and striking out.
The show sold out at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022, where it won a Scotsman Fringe First, the Popcorn Writing Award, and garnered a number of 5* and 4* reviews from What’s On Stage, The Guardian and Lyn Gardner (The Stage).
The show then transferred to Soho Theatre, and embarked on a national tour the following year in 2023 – going to Birmingham Rep, Coventry Belgrade, and Contact theatre, Manchester amongst others. The play was later optioned by A24 and BBC Comedy.
★★★★★ What’s on Stage ★★★★★ Broadway Baby ★★★★★ A Youngish Perspective
★★★★ The Guardian ★★★★ The Stage ★★★★ The Scotsman ★★★★ Financial Times
★★★★ All That Dazzles ★★★★ Theatre and Tonic ★★★★ Binge Fringe ★★★★ Everything Theatre ★★★★ Spy in the Stalls
