Award-winning comedy-drama about young Muslim men comes to Leeds Playhouse next month

Leeds audiences are invited to join Jihad, Rashid and Asif at Chunkyz Shisha Lounge – a space where community whispers are heard, jokes are shared, and new hustles are born. The laid-back lounge is the setting for Blue Mist, an award-winning, darkly comic production about truth, trust and ambition, coming to the Courtyard Theatre at Leeds Playhouse from 17-20 June.

Presented by Boundless Theatre in association with Tamasha, the Olivier Award-nominated and Asian Media Award-winning play explores the media agenda around young Muslim men as they navigate a system that isn’t built for them. Written by Mohamed-Zain Dada and directed by Milli Bhatia, the story follows Jihad, an aspiring journalist struggling to balance his ambition with his values, as he gets the opportunity to make a documentary that gives voice to his community and challenges the stereotypes that usually populate the airwaves.

Omar Bynon (The School for Scandal, Royal Shakespeare Company; Julius Caesar, Shakespeare’sGlobe; 2036: Pawn, Bush Theatre) plays Jihad, Aznan Ahmed (Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Company; Statues, Bush Theatre; After Sex, Arcola Theatre) plays Rashid; and Kashif Ghole (Life of Pi, Asia Tour; Brown Boys Swim, UK Tour/North Wall; Silent Witness, BBC) plays Asif.

Blue Mist previously played at Royal Court Upstairs, where it was nominated for the Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre Award at the 2024 Olivier Awards and won the Asian Media Award for Best Stage Production. It was a second Olivier Award nomination for director Milli Bhatia following seven methods of killing kylie jenner.

Playwright Mohamed-Zain Dada said: “Blue Mist is a story about young Muslim men carving out joy and identity. It’s about the spaces that hold us together and the laughter that comes from everyday moments in our communities. From the dramas at Jummah, to fillet-o-fish, to the absurdities of gym culture. But it’s also about how the media willfully misrepresents us, distorts our humanity and makes us out to be monsters. Blue Mist questions how we might confront these narratives and the people in power who perpetuate them.”

Blue Mist plays at Leeds Playhouse 17-20 June. Tickets are available here.