My Name Is . . .

by Sudha Bhuchar

When Gaby disappears from her Scottish home, it is assumed that her Pakistani father, Farhan, has kidnapped her. The spiralling headlines are only momentarily silenced when it emerges that Gaby may have fled of her own accord, choosing to spend her life in Pakistan. To the distress of her Scottish mother, Suzy, Gaby declares, “My name is Ghazala”, turning her back on "Gaby" and, seemingly, the West. This moving verbatim play reveals a cross-cultural love story that began in late-seventies Glasgow, a world away from the frantic "tug of love" well documented in the world's press. A captivating new play about love, family and ever-shifting identities, My Name Is . . . tells the story behind an event that fleetingly hit headlines in 2006 and continues to resonate throughout the UK and beyond. It was first produced by Tamasha at the Arcola Theatre, London, on 30 April 2014, before the production transferred to the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, on 29 May 2014.

66 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2014

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

If seeing this play hadn't been the best theater-going experience of my life, it would have been the absolute worst - the theater was unbearably hot and stuffy, I dropped the candy I was hiding in my pocket loudly on the floor, and I was exhausted from at least a week of constant travel. But this play was so heartfelt, so thought-provoking, and so challenging, that the second those lights went down none of the other stuff mattered. Re-visiting this play by reading it was strange - it was so familiar, yet reading it was such a different experience than seeing it. In the performance, the switches between languages were so seamless and understandable. I sometimes felt a little lost reading it, but that also helped me to slow down and think about things. SO WONDERFUL, EVERYONE READ RIGHT NOW.