A gripping, kaleidoscopic drama about a clash of values in multicultural Britain, from actor and playwright John Hollingworth.
Bradford. On the eve of a Conservative Party Conference the country is in turmoil and one of its most multicultural cities awaits a visit from the Prime Minister.
Kash, a liberal British Muslim, prepares his address to politicians about the state of the nation. His girlfriend Natalie, a recent convert to Islam, cooks for anti-war protesters gathered at the Town Hall. Lyn, her mother, moans to anyone who’ll listen about the decline of her cherished England. It’s all too much for Kash’s daughter Qadira, who begins to plan a radical intervention.
As the nation questions immigration policies and military support in the Middle East, one family face their own internal conflict of faith, belonging, and who gets to call themselves British.
Multitudes, John Hollingworth’s debut play, premiered at the Tricycle Theatre, London, in 2015.
‘One of the best new plays I’ve seen this year… you could teach the most fantastic sixth-form lesson out of this play because it’s about what it means to assimilate… it’s one of the clearest accounts I’ve ever seen of the anger someone can feel if they’ve suffered racism, ostracism, in Britain.’
— Radio 2 Arts Show
‘As urgent and immediate as the morning headlines… a necessary play guaranteed to stoke argument and debate’
— Guardian
‘A passionate, often deeply emotional, charge pulses through the story… this really is a play for today’
— The Arts Desk
‘Written with wit and an appealing lightness of touch… consistently smart, insightful, and relevant’
— Time Out
