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Afghanistan. It's 2004. Farook and Samia broadcast live every day to the whole of Kabul, delivering ninety minutes of musical bliss: Britney, Backstreet Boys and Enrique Iglesias. But when their show starts to make waves, the two young friends must take on repressive forces to build a new Afghanistan.
Inspired by the true story of Afghanistan's first youth music programme, Waleed Akhtar's play Kabul Goes Pop: Music Television Afghanistan explores a world following the US invasion that is complex, contradictory and shocking – all to a soundtrack of early noughties' pop.
The play premiered at Brixton House, London, in 2022, directed by Anna Himali Howard, before touring the UK. It was presented with HighTide, in association with Mercury Theatre Colchester.
"A fizzing tribute to bubblegum songs of hope." —Guardian
"A cracker... pulses with energy... powerful and compelling... heartbreaking." —The Stage
Waleed Akhtar is a writer and actor. His plays include: The Real Ones (Bush Theatre, London, 2024); The P Word (Bush Theatre, 2022); Kabul Goes Pop: Music Television Afghanistan (Brixton House, London, and tour 2022); Sholay on the Big Screen (Bush Theatre, 2021); and I Don’t Know What To Do (VAULT Festival 2020, Evening Standard Pick of the Fest). His English translation of Alexis Michalik’s play The Art of Illusion was staged at Hampstead Theatre in 2022. His short film Lost Paradise was produced by UK Film Council, and he has contributed material for BBC Radio 4’s Sketchtopia and Newsjack. He was named Most Promising New Playwright at the 2023 OffWestEnd Awards.