I Wanna Be Yours

By Zia Ahmed

Directed by Tasnim Hossain

The widely acclaimed debut play from London Laureate and poetry slam champion Zia Ahmed, I Wanna Be Yours is a modern-day romance that asks whether love really is all you need.

Haseeb and Ella meet at a performance workshop. From opposite sides of the Thames, he’s a poet and she’s an actor hired to help him with his enunciation. Their attraction is immediate. They start dating, get serious and fall in love. Soon there is each other’s family and friends to navigate, and then big questions about the future – moving in together, marriage, children. Does it matter that Haseeb is British–Pakistani and Ella’s a white girl from Yorkshire? Can their love surpass the cultural and physical boundaries between them?

Through short, striking vignettes, Zia Ahmed builds an authentic and insightful picture of contemporary, cross-cultural courtship. Ahmed's performance poetry background is evident in his evocative and playful use of language, imagery and symbolism, which combine for a delightful mix of humour, heartbreak and hope. A compelling and topical work of extraordinary vitality, this production of I Wanna Be Yours for MTC’s Education and Families Program stars Oz Malik and is directed by Melbourne Theatre Company Resident Director Tasnim Hossain. It promises to be a powerful, lyrical and big-hearted night of theatre.

★★★★ "Beguiling... An exciting voice like Ahmed's feels like the future - but it's also very much about right now." - Evening Standard

★★★★ "Ahmed's funny, delicate writing...makes this a little gem of a show." - Time Out London

Director: Tasnim Hossain

Writer: Zia Ahmed

Cast: Oz Malik and Eleanor Barkla