Snookered: (Modern Plays)

Snookered probes into the lives of young Muslim men and their fragile masculinity, burdened by cultural expectations yet charged with personal dreams. In a volatile political climate, Ishy Din opens a timely window into a strand of British Muslim life that often remains unseen. The plot follows four friends who, every year, meet on the anniversary of their mate's death for a game of pool and a few drinks. As they excavate the past and measure their own lives, secrets are revealed and allegiances shift as quickly as the drinks are downed. Can they put to rest their guilt over the untimely death of their friend? And will their friendship survive the final betrayal? One of the very few plays written both by and about British Muslims, Snookered explores their camaraderie, life decisions, and their self identity within their close-knit Muslim community of extended families and network of friends. The sharp, pace-filled dialogue captures the Punjabi-English urban patois that is currently developing in northern towns but is rarely seen onstage. The result is that the characters are both alive and relevant, and moments of sharp wit collide with emotionally searing exchanges. Developed by the theatre company Tamasha, whose manifesto is to explore British Asian perspectives and identities, Snookered is unafraid to feature difficult and significant themes such as religion, drug addiction, misogyny, poverty and racism. Against this backdrop, Snookered is first and foremost a psychologically detailed but razor-sharp depiction of young men finding their paths in life, whilst navigating what it means to be young, British and Muslim.

About the Author :
Ishy Din is a taxi-driver from Middlesborough, whose script John Barnes Saved My Life was shortlisted as part of Radio 5 Live's Sports Shorts competition and aired in 2004. He was then commissioned to write a piece for the BBC Brief Encounters series, has written for BBC Radio Newcastle, and came second in the British Asian writing competition BANG! in 2007 (Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Tamasha and BBC Writersroom, supported by Media Training North West). He has recently completed Sustenance with Deborah Bruce for New Writing North, with support from the Arts Council and the Peggy Ramsey Foundation, and a short Arvon Foundation writing residency with tutors Simon Stephens and Graham Whybrow. He is currently working on an idea for a new musical called Soul Brother with the support of the Adopt a Playwright scheme (OffWestEnd.com), and is also developing a short film Hijab, and a screenplay called Fraud.

Review :
It has plenty fresh to say about the aspirations of young Pakistani males ... Din is very good at charting the things that unite and divide his Pakistani quartet ... Din has taken a stock situation, a friends' annual reunion, and reinvigorated it through sport and social commentary. -- Michael Billington Guardian [A] highly promising first full-length play ... Snookered memorably captures the confusion of young men who find themselves caught between two cultures ... this provocative piece is undoubtedly blessed with vigour and bite, and is especially strong at exposing the fault lines that can develop in even the closest friendships with the passage of time ... a genuinely eye-opening play. -- Charles Spencer Telegraph Wow! This is the most accomplished and assured first play I have seen for years ... Din uses his command of the relentless demotic to lay bare an extraordinary range of emotion from the braggardly and blustering to the vulnerable and downright tender ... in this expertly-paced piece of writing ... Din's prose is as subtle as it sinuous. It works a lot through what it leaves unsaid -- Paul Vallely Independent Din has a great ear for dialogue and a way with spiky comedy ... Din writes with zest, honesty and sympathy about the complexity of real lives in modern Britain. -- Sarah Hemming Financial Times Din certainly succeeds in bringing a tongue-in-cheek voice to British theatre throughout the play. [He] is able to deal with very real social taboos in an unusually down-to-earth setting ... Worth a read or a performance purely on the basis of Din's witty script. -- Maddi Howell, Books Editor York Vision