The Real Ones Tickets

See the world premiere of Waleed Akhtar’s latest play, The Real Ones, a tale of platonic soulmates at the Bush Theatre. Book The Real Ones tickets on London Theatre.

The Real Ones in London stars Nathaniel Curtis (It’s a Sin), Mariam Haque (Black Mirror, When The Crows Visit), Olivier nominee Nnabiko Ejimofor (For Black Boys), and Anthony Howell (Luther, Foyle’s War).

The talented cast tells the story of childhood friends, Neelam and Zaid, whose lives have gone different directions as they’ve gotten older. Will they find their way back to each other? Through funny moments and touching scenes this play explores themes of platonic soulmates, mixed-heritage relationships, and decades of friendship.

“The play is about Neelam and Zaid and it charts their friendship like a grand romance. I think we often prioritise romantic loves but actually friendships are some of the greatest loves of my life,” said writer Waleen Akhtar.

The Real Ones is a play with an exceptional creative team that reunites much of the team behind the Olivier-winning play The P Word, including writer Waleen Akhtar and director Anthony Simpson Pike.

“One of the greatest things about The P Word was the audience. I’d love to have them come back and see this play as well – it touches on queer themes and perspectives that we don’t always see. I don’t think the relationship between a queer man and his straight female best friend is really explored and I wanted to give that some sort of depth,” Akhtar said.

The extraordinary creative team also includes set and costume designer Anisha Fields (Little Prince), lighting designer Christopher Nairne (Blackout Sounds), sound designer Xana (Strange Fruit), and video designer Matt Powell (Rent).

Assisted Performances
Relaxed: Thurs 10 Oct 7:30pm.
Captioned: Thurs 26 Sept 7:30pm / Sat 5 Oct 2:30pm
Audio Described: Sat 28 Sept 2:30pm / Thurs 3 Oct 7:30pm.