Three teenage girls forge an unlikely friendship.

They hang out, hide from bullies and challenge each other with TikToks, beat-boxing, dance routines… They just want to build their social media empire, or study astronomy, or become as good a rapper as Megan Thee Stallion. But they undergo a political awakening when they realise that what you say – even what you think – is viewed very differently depending who you are.

When they find themselves the target of the state surveillance ‘Prevent’ programme, they have to fight back. Friendships fracture and loyalties are tested as they pursue different avenues of resistance. In an era when dissent is being criminalised, what does it take to speak up?

This is a riotous, funny play told through the technicolour lens of three teenage girls. Inspired by graphic novels, hip hop, pop culture and real-world activists, Liberation Squares asks what it takes for young Muslim women today to be the heroes of their own stories.

Cast

Vaneeka Dadhria
Ruqaya Vaneeka Dadhria
Asha Hassan
Sabi Asha Hassan
Halema Hussain
Xara Halema Hussain

Creatives

Writer Sonali Bhattacharyya
Director Milli Bhatia
Designer Tomás Palmer
Lighting Designer Joshua Gadsby
Composer and Sound Designer Elena Peña
Movement Director Iskandar إسكندر R. Sharazuddin
Casting Director Arthur Carrington
Dramaturg afshan d’souza-lodhi
Assistant Director Jade Franks
Stage Manager Chloe Chancheong
Wellbeing Practitioner Eshmit Kaur for Artist Wellbeing
Associate Designer Ania Levy
Associate Sound Designer Bella Kear
Costume Supervisor Emilie Carter
Props Supervisor Hannah Zemlack
Production Managers Rachel Bowen, Andrew Quick, Jamie Smith

Reviews

“RAW, REAL and FASCINATING”
Newark Advertiser
“A FANTASTIC and IMPORTANT piece of theatre”
Elemental Theatre
“The most striking of all is how the ‘Prevent’ programme impacts on the Muslim community, the reality is breathtaking.”
4 rating
Theatre and Tonic

Access

We provide British Sign Language Interpretation and Captioning for this production.

Everyone is welcome to attend accessible performances, customers experience the full show including the accessible services.

Find out more about Access at Nottingham Playhouse.