Romeo and Hamed

“Tonight, a story, a myth, a testament

That tells of love, sorrow and loves descent

A tale that tells of two lovers hearts

Written in stars, ancient heavenly charts.”

Romeo and Hamed is a bold, provocative queer reimagining of Shakespeare’s tragedy from debut writer Scott Horgan.

Romeo moves through a world that never softens. Croydon’s concrete glare presses in from every side, until Hamed cuts through it. Their connection is immediate and dangerously alive, burning through expectation, faith, and the weight of family loyalty. Yet tragedy, as always, feels inescapable for our young lovers.

This is a story of pain and pleasure, desire and violence, love as something that leaves a mark. Raves become arenas of chaos and release, a rooftop in Croydon becomes a place of worship, and emotions swing without warning from euphoria to devastation.

Told in relentless, lyrical verse, Romeo & Hamed is urgent, feral, sexy and unafraid to ask difficult questions. It plays freely in Shakespeare’s sandpit, leaning into huge emotional swings, high drama, and catastrophic tenderness. It’s a story for right now that surges with energy and a pounding soundtrack, unlike anything currently on London stages.

This new play explores family devotion, identity, religion and belonging, asking if we have the courage to love freely in a world that often refuses it.

All performances of Romeo and Hamed will be Creatively Captioned.

“HIGHLY COMMENDED” - National Theatre Script department.

PRAISE FOR DIRECTOR, MADDY CORNER:

“Enthralling… fascinating analysis of the human condition” - Guardian ★★★★

Corner bring[s] an inventiveness to the staging of each play that keeps everything visually interesting and distinctive” - The Stage

“Superbly directed by Maddy Corner, this is a play that pulls you into another world and continuously wrong-foots expectations and it will haunt me for days” - Ithankyou

CREATIVE TEAM:

A Sinew Productions x Slime and Pies co-production

Writer - Scott Horgan
Director - Maddy Corner
Producers - Eleanor Roberts, Scott Horgan, Maddy Corner
Consultant Producer - Mina Moniri
Assistant Director and Creative Consultant - Bilal Sha Jihan
Stage Management - Joni Falconer and Ibraheem Hamirani
Mental Health Support Worker - Suzanna Storey
Script Consultants - Mohammed Barber and Huda Dualeh
Script Editor - Dinarte Gouveia

Casting by LANE Casting
Casting Director - Hannah Ashby Ward
Casting Associates - Priyanka Patel and Steph Coles

With thanks to our Queer Muslim Focus Group - Hidayah, Gazzy from Hidayah, Sulamaan Rahim and Bilal Sha Jihan, with actors Jamahyl Chan Ellis, Aarushi Ganju and Tiran Aakel, led by Mina Moniri