Three teenage girls forge an unlikely friendship.
They challenge each other with Tik Toks, beat-boxing, rap and dance routines… They just want to build their social media empire, or study astronomy, or become as good a rapper as Megan Thee Stallion. But they undergo a political awakening when they realise that what you say – even what you think – is viewed very differently depending on who you are.
When they find themselves the target of the state surveillance ‘Prevent’ programme, they have to fight back. Friendships fracture and loyalties are tested as they pursue different avenues of resistance. In an era when dissent is being criminalised, what does it take to speak up?
This is a riotous, funny play told through the technicolour lens of three British Muslim schoolgirls. Inspired by graphic novels, hip hop, pop culture and real-world youth activists, Liberation Squares asks what it takes for young Muslim women today to be the heroes of their own stories.
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“Sonali Bhattacharyya’s urgent new play, delivered in a lively and accessible production by director Milli Bhatia … a pressing topic, compellingly explored.” – The Stage
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“Bhattacharyya ramps up the action and comedy nicely … the humanity of the girls leads the way” Reviews Hub
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“A painfully urgent piece of theatre … has never been more necessary in the present time … I left with a fire ignited in my soul” – Redbrick
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“Whilst there is a hard hitting narrative, there is a beautiful blend of humour … the work of Fifth Word is designed to provoke a strong reaction, and this play achieves precisely that” – Theatre and Tonic
