maatin’s Duck to make UK premiere at the Arcola Theatre

maatin’s Duck will make its UK premiere at the Arcola Theatre this summer.

Presented by Katy Galloway Productions and maatin, whose play Friday at the masjid has been shortlisted for the RSC’s new national playwriting competition 37 Plays, the production runs 29 June – 15 July, with previews from 27 June.

Imy Wyatt Corner, associate artist at Arcola Theatre, directs the one-man show of a British Indian schoolboy as he attempts to reach dizzying heights of cricketing glory in his prestigious, elite school.

Omar Bynon will star in the piece as Ismail.

It’s the summer of 2005, and Ismail – ‘Smiley’ to his schoolmates – is about to become the youngest-ever member of his elite public school’s First XI cricket team. A star player full of ambition and talent, he sets his sights on immortality – breaking the school batting record and getting his name into Wisden.

But at the start of the season, new coach Mr. Eagles takes a particular dislike to him, for reasons Ismail can’t quite put his finger on. Desperate to prove himself, he runs into a patch of poor form at just the wrong time. Bad luck on the pitch leads to issues off it too, and Ismail finds that no one – friends, family, teammates – seems to get what he’s going through.

Playwright maatin said: “This play represents all my ambitions as a theatre-maker: to tell British Muslim stories, to reveal the multitudes of south Asian and Muslim identity, and to showcase the talents of those from minoritised identities in all areas of the creative process. Though this story is set in the past, its issues are ever-present – exploring how racism infects our most polite and prestigious institutions and setting the stage for two decades of societal hostility towards Muslims in Britain.

“This role was written to give a south Asian performer a stage all to themselves, bringing audiences into the seldom-seen perspective of a British Indian, Muslim teenager boy, while playing a wide variety of characters. Omar Bynon is an exceptionally talented performer who has the charisma and skills to bring Ismail’s world to life on stage. Additionally, it’s an fact that those of us from minoritised identities rarely make up large numbers in theatre spaces, particularly those who identify as non-white. It is my biggest goal to try and change that. To purposefully invite communities that have been excluded – whether deliberately or otherwise – into the theatre should be seen as a positive act that I hope will be celebrated.”

For more information and tickets, visit arcolatheatre.com