The Funeral Director (NHB Modern Plays)

Winner of the Papatango New Writing Prize - 2018

Life as the director of a Muslim funeral parlour isn't always easy, but Ayesha has things pretty sorted. She and Zeyd share everything: a marriage, a business, a future.

Until Tom walks in to organise his boyfriend's funeral. A snap moral decision, informed by the values of Ayesha's community and faith, has profound consequences.

Forced to confront a secret she has hidden even from herself, Ayesha must decide who she is - no matter the cost.

Iman Qureshi's play The Funeral Director is an incisive and heartfelt story of sexuality, gender and religion in twenty-first-century Britain. It won the 2018 Papatango New Writing Prize and premiered at Southwark Playhouse, London, in 2018.

Auteur

Iman Qureshi's first full-length play, Speed, was produced by Kali Theatre at the Tristan Bates Theatre and her short play, His and Hers, (Soho Theatre) was produced as part of Tamasha's New Muslim Voices. Her play for young people, Side Effects, was performed at Canary Wharf Roof Garden and Poplar Union. Iman has been writer in residence at various schools and her short play Birthday Begum, written in residence at Mulberry School for Girls, was performed at Rich Mix and Theatre Royal Stratford East. She was shortlisted for Soho Theatre's Tony Craze Award in 2017.