Beyond the Love Story: Exploring Peanut Butter & Blueberries

Join playwright Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan for a pre-show workshop exploring some of the ideas, histories and questions that sit beneath Peanut Butter & Blueberries.

While the play follows the developing relationship between Hafsah and Bilal, their love story unfolds in a world shaped by Islamophobia, racism and wider political forces. In this workshop, Suhaiymah will explore the social and historical context behind the play, in an open and non-judgemental environment, drawing on her wider research and writing, in particular her book, Tangled in Terror: Uprooting Islamophobia.

Together, we’ll consider what it means to write a Muslim love story at a time of when people like the characters in the play are often made out to be security threats, outsiders to Britain, or to have “strange” cultural practices. Through this session we will consider the narratives and assumptions we might hold about Muslims, and about what it means to be human, that build the world of her love story. How do these things shape whose stories are told, and how?

There will also be time for questions and conversation with Suhaiymah.

Thursday 29 October, 11.30am–12.45pm
Brooke Room

Tuesday 3 November, 5.30pm–6.45pm
City Room