A Clean Break and Bush Theatre production
World Premiere
Friday 24 June 2022 - Saturday 6 August 2022
Monday - Saturday at 7.30pm (running time ~90 mins)
Matinée performances Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2.30pm
Relaxed and sensory adapted performances, captioned performances, audio-described performances, a BSL interpreted performance and touch tours are available.
Press night: Thursday 30 June at 7pm
Post-show events:
12 July - Parental imprisonment and the impact on families
27 July - Women, racism and cultural disparities in the Criminal Justice System
‘There’s going to be some changes round here, sugar and TV allowed whenever you want’
Leila is happy living at home with Noor, her loving but traditional grandmother. When Aleena, her fiercely independent mother, returns home from prison determined to deliver a new world of fun and excitement, their calm lives are upended in a blur of nail varnish and sweet treats. Family secrets come tumbling into the light, and Leila finds deciding on her future more difficult than she first thought.
Favour is a touching and hopeful family drama that tackles duty, addiction and the battle of putting yourself back together. Writer of Diary of a Hounslow Girl Ambreen Razia’s remarkable new play, a new Bush Theatre and Clean Break co-commission, tells a strikingly frank story of a working-class Muslim family in a way you’ve never seen before on stage.
Content warnings
Some of the themes in Favour might be challenging to engage with, especially if you are personally affected. For this reason, we have created a self-care guide which inludes content warnings, a play synopsis, self-care tips as well as other useful information about the play and the venue.
Post-show Events
During the run, Clean Break will be hosting two post-show panel discussions on the themes of the play on 27 July and 1 August.
27 July 2022 (evening performance) | Bush Theatre | Access included with all tickets for Favour on this date.
A post show discussion with Clean Break, Muslim Women in Prison and Hibiscus.
After watching Favour, stay behind to hear experts discuss racism and cultural disparities within the criminal justice system, and how specialist organisations work to address the injustices women from marginalised communities experience within secure settings and in the community.
Our panel will be chaired by Alison Frater, Co-Chair of Clean Break, Chair of the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance, a trustee of Clinks and a member of the Transforming Lives Advisory Board, Prison Reform Trust. She is a visiting professor in the Department of Criminology and Sociology at Royal Holloway and a public health lead researcher on a probation based mental health study at UCL. Joining us in this important and eye-opening conversation will be:
Sofia Buncy, founder of Muslim Women in Prison, a unique project which researches and educates the Criminal Justice System on the needs of Muslim women both in custody and the community. The project also aims to demonstrate to other providers what a culturally compliant model looks like in practice.
Marchu Girma, CEO of Hibiscus Initiatives, a voluntary sector organisation with distinct expertise working with Black, minoritised and migrant women and families at the intersection of the immigration and criminal justice systems. Their work falls into the areas of prisons, community, international resettlement and human trafficking.
Ambreen Razia, writer of Favour. Ambreen is an actress and writer from South London. Her critically acclaimed play The Diary of a Hounslow Girl toured nationally around the UK and was adapted as a BBC Three pilot. Her play POT which focuses on girls in gangs and children in UK care system was published by Oberon books and completed a national tour around the UK in 2018. She also co-wrote her short film Relapse which centred around reoffending after prison.
1 August 2022 | Bush Theatre | Access included with all tickets for Favour on this date.
A post show discussion with Clean Break, Women in Prison and Children Heard and Seen.
After watching Favour, stay behind for an illuminating conversation about the affect imprisonment has on women and their families, and what positive community alternatives look like.
Clean Break will be joined by other experts in the fields of support and advocacy for women, children and families who are impacted by imprisonment, and working towards a society where women can live free from criminalisation. Our panel guests are:
Kate Fraser, Head of Prison Partnerships and Participation at Women in Prison, a national charity that delivers support for women affected by the criminal justice system in prisons, in the community and through their Women's Centres. They campaign to end the harm caused to women, their families and communities by imprisonment.
Cara Mohan-Carr, Policy and Campaigns Co-ordinator at Children Heard and Seen, a charity supporting children, young people and their families in their communities, who are impacted by parental imprisonment. They offer 1-1 support with trained staff, volunteer mentoring, parent support, peer support groups for children, online activities for children, and activity days.
Ambreen Razia, writer of Favour. Ambreen is an actress and writer from South London. Her critically acclaimed play The Diary of a Hounslow Girl toured nationally around the UK and was adapted as a BBC Three pilot. Her play POT which focuses on girls in gangs and children in UK care system was published by Oberon books and completed a national tour around the UK in 2018. She also co-wrote her short film Relapse which centred around reoffending after prison.
Artwork: Helen Murray
Production photos: Suzi Corker
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