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Ruhksana Ahmad

RUHKSANA AHMAD  

 Nationality:    n/a
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    MBA Literary Agents Ltd  represented by Diana Tyler


Rukhsana was born in Pakistan and now lives in West London. She has been a professional writer for many years and was co-founder and Artistic Director of the Kali Theatre Company. She has taught Creative Writing in adult education colleges and has held three writing residencies and a Royal Literary Fund Fellowship at Queen Marys University of London. As well as her on-going theatre and radio work, Rukhsana has completed an MA in Screenwriting at the London University of the Arts (formerly London College of Printing).

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below is a list of Ruhksana Ahmad's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

 Black Shalwar         Footprints In The Sand         Gate-Keeper's Wife, The         Last Chance         Letting Go         Man Who Refused To Be God, The         Mistaken The Annie Besant Story         New Constitution         Partners In Crime         Prayer Mats And Tin Cans         Rags To Riches         Recall         River On Fire         Sepoy's Salt, Captain's Malt         Songs For A Sanctuary         Zarina And The King

Black Shalwar

Synopsis:
Sultana, a feisty prostitute, falls in love and surrenders her independence to a dreamer who persuades her to give up her lucrative post in ambala Cantonment and move to metropolitan Delhi. Soon, he turns to mysticism and she begins to lose her own grip on reality. She is jolted awake when she discovers that the charming Shankar whose courting has comforted her loneliest moments has been sleeping with her best friend too.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Kali Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
50 min One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Footprints In The Sand

Synopsis:
poignant tale of abbas, a refugee from Liberia, who waits in vain on the beach at Dover for his 'lost' brother to find him. Trapped in the trauma of his past, he struggles to respond to the overtures of his English teacher Prem, who is tussling with her own demons.
- Siobhan Murphy, Metro London

Notes:
part of Footprints in the Sand

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Pursued by a Bear

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Gate-Keeper's Wife, The

Synopsis:
annette, bored with her childless middle class existence as a postcolonial memsahib takes up supervising feeding times at the zoo on a voluntary basis only to be stumped by Tara, the thieving gate-keeper's wife. Tara claims that annette's favourite cheetah, Heera is a saint who will not eat if Tara's children go hungry. In a moment of epiphany she is forced to confront the unhappiness that is consuming her marriage.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
at Hawth Theatre, Crawley    1996

Organisations:
alarmist Theatre

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
50 min One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Last Chance

Synopsis:
Sheela, a 29 yrs old actor visits her mother Shabnam and ailing grandmother, Zainab in Dhaka laden with expensive gifts. 12 yr old Razia is waiting for a new mobile phone. Her grandmother is longing for Sheela to get married this time but she announces that she must return to a part in a big Bollywood cross-over movie. To her mother's rage she is still not ready to take her daughter 12 yr old daughter Razia back with her. Shabnam is weary of the responsibility and the child is running out of her control now. as they argue the family's darkest secret that Razia is Sheela's daughter, not her sister, bursts into the open hurting both the child and the grandmother. Zainab trips and goes into diabetic coma. as they nurse her Sheela and Shabnam come to a painful reconciliation -Shabnam decides to concede to her daughter's will yet once more and she and Razia are left waiting for the prodigal's daughter's next visit.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
part of the International Women's Day in Dhaka    -

Organisations:
Commissioned by British Council Dhaka

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
45 min One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  3            Other:  1b 1g

Further Reference:
-

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Letting Go

Synopsis:
a witty and heartfelt piece For One Night Only tugs at the heartstrings and entertains as much as it provokes. Letting Go by Rukhsana ahmad is a haunting love story set in Dover focusing on the relationship between a Liberian asylum Seeker and a British Asian teacher. Both are imprisoned by their pasts, unable to move forward until the intervention of the mysterious Raza. an atmospheric and evocative piece, Letting Go deals with the anguish of leaving those you love and the terrible choices that some of us must face. . .

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Pursued By a Bear

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Man Who Refused To Be God, The

Synopsis:
The Man who - tells the story of the anglo-Indian philosopher Krishnamurti's tortured affair with Rosalind Williams, the wife of his compatriot and business manager, Rajagopal. all three are old friends caught in a triangle because of their affiliation with a curious cult, Theosophy. Krishna rejects the role of Messiah imposed upon him by the cult his and patron and foster mother annie Besant, sheds celibacy and begins a spiritual quest that leaves his dearest friends and allies wondering if he is a saint or a sinner

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
95 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mistaken The Annie Besant Story

Synopsis:
In 1914 English activist annie Besant went to India. The British courts had taken her children into care. She tries to adopt two Brahmin boys - but their father tries to prevent this. She declares one of the boys is the new Messiah. She co-founds the Movement for Indian Independence. Gandhi is at first a supporter

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Yvonne arnaud Theatre, Guildford    25 Apr 2007

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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New Constitution

Synopsis:
Mungoo, a horsecab driver is labouring under the delusion that the British are abdicating power when the Home Rule Ordinance is activated. Only to discover on the morning of April 1st that nothing has changed.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Toured schools and Theatro Technis, Camden    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Young people's Theatre , 50 min Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Partners In Crime

Synopsis:
a British company is on tour in Lahore with a Shakespeare play. The lead actress, Sara Stevens has a special interest in Pakistan because her mother is anglo-Indian. She had meant to visit her grandfather's family who still live there. But things go horribly awry when an incident occurs in the auditorium sparked off by a minor act of protest in the repressive, over-armed atmosphere in the country. The arrest of her dresser, Razia, for the suspected theft of Sara's passport leads to a fresh spiral of violence that builds to a surreal level of horror ending in a scene where things are no longer what they had seemed to be.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
LIFT    2004

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
40 min One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Prayer Mats And Tin Cans

Synopsis:
Two young girls, an Italian and a Pakistani strike up a friendship at a time when the newest wave of migrant workers is finding it hard to survive in a country that is determined to downsize its factories. Earlier migrants, Italians, look all set to return. a story of generational conflict and culture shock set in a climate of redundancies and change.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Worcester Arts Workshop    -

Organisations:
drama students and community members.

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Young people's Theatre , 70 min Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  numerous

Further Reference:
-

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Rags To Riches

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
Black Theatre Forum

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Recall

Synopsis:
an innocent Asian man and his English wife face the wrath of a rioting mob who attack and burn down their curry restaurant because a black man is suspected of murdering a white. The couple flee to Newcastle start all over again. The painful memory of the nightmarish attack is relived by their daughter who assembles family history from photographs and newspaper cuttings.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Middlesborough Youth Theatre Group    1989

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Young people's Theatre , 35 min Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  numerous

Further Reference:
-

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River On Fire

Synopsis:
Desperate for work, Kiran is thrilled when Indian film director, Waheed, casts her as a Mogul Princess in a Bollywood film version of antigone scripted by her mother. But Bombay is not the tinsel town she expected. Real life throws her off balance when Hindu Muslim riots erupt in the city and she finds herself drawn into a battle with her own family in a situation where life begins to imitate art

Notes:
Runner up for International SUSAn Smith Blackburn Award.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
100 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sepoy's Salt, Captain's Malt

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1986

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Songs For A Sanctuary

Synopsis:
Radical refuge worker, Kamla, is infuriated by newcomer Rajinder whose religious commitment and conformity to tradition leads to clashes over issues of culture, faith and identity with fellow residents. Lost in their battle for the soul of her young daughter, Savita, both women forget the dangers of a breach of security, with disastrous consequences.

Notes:
commissioned by Monstrous Regiment And performed At Worcester May 1991, revived for A national tour beginning At the Lyric, Hammersmith. Produced for BBC Radio 4. Nominated for International SUSAn Smith Blackburn Award.

1st Produced:
Asian Women Writer's Workshop    1990

Organisations:
Kali Theatre Company

1st Published:
in Six Plays by Black and Asian Women, ed Khadija George, aurora Metro, 1993   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Reading, 100 min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Zarina And The King

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1986

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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www.doollee.com comprises a comprehensive online searchable database for plays written in English since the production of Look back In Anger in 1956. Each play listing contains a playwright biography, synopsis, cast size, creative and production team for the premiere production, date and location of the first performance and much more.doollee.com not only defines the World's theatrical repertoire for the first time but also aims to revitalise that repertoire by reintroducing many lost scripts and providing a gateway for locating and clearing rights for a very large number existing scripts. We are delighted to receive information from users where our own research has been unable to locate details on the holder of a play's rights.doollee.com contains a comprehensive listing for each new play written in English produced by professional theatre companies, venues, festivals, commercial producers and once-off-producers from 1956 to the present. It includes adaptations, translations and new versions. The database also includes those plays produced by fringe (unsubsidised) companies and by semi-professional organisations, where the work is deemed to be of particular significance to the repertoire. Thus you will get help with playwright, dramatist, plays, biography, theatres, agent, synopses, cast sizes, production, published, dates, database, research.