After three years travelling through drafts, rehearsals, rewrites, family chaos, emotional breakthroughs and sci-fi levels of camp, the Khandan crew has finally assembled.
Last week marked a significant milestone in the journey of Khandan: The Shame Generation as we welcomed the incredible and fierce Amanda Huxtable into the rehearsal room.
I’ve known Amanda for almost ten years. Last year, I had the privilege of working with her as an actor on The Engagement Party at the Oldham Coliseum, where Amanda directed and Louis Lisle was Assistant Producer. Fast forward a year and somehow the universe has aligned once again, bringing us all back together. Only this time, I’m the one sitting in the Captain’s chair.
Having Amanda come into the room and encounter the script for the first time since it became a full draft was both exciting and nerve-racking. As a writer creating autobiographical work, it’s easy to become so close to the material that you can no longer see the shape of it. Amanda immediately brought her wealth of experience, insight and intuition into the room. She wasn’t afraid to ask the difficult questions.
What is driving this story?
What is Sid fighting for?
Where is the emotional engine?
Where are the shifts?
Where is the mountain we are asking an audience to climb?
Alongside Jenn Wilson, we spent the week interrogating the script, making edits, refining moments and excavating the emotional arc buried within years of memories, stories and experiences. Amanda has an extraordinary ability to identify the heart of a piece whilst simultaneously challenging it to be stronger, clearer and more truthful.
Then came the blocking.
For the first time, scenes that had existed on pages, laptops and Google Docs started to take physical shape in the room. Moments began to breathe. Relationships started to land. Emotional beats found their place. The universe of Khandan began moving from imagination into reality.
What struck me most throughout the week wasn’t just Amanda’s skill as a director, but the way she holds a room. There is a spirituality and generosity to her practice that feels incredibly grounding. Each day began with gratitude, acknowledging the ancestors, recognising those who came before us and giving thanks for the opportunity to create together.
As a queer British Pakistani artist creating a show about family, identity, belonging and generational inheritance, that felt particularly powerful.
There was something deeply moving about being guided through this process by such a formidable Black woman with decades of experience behind her. Someone who understands the importance of story, community, legacy and truth. The room felt held. Challenged. Supported. Open.
Quite honestly, it was phenomenal.
Looking around this project now, I am reminded just how many people it takes to bring a universe into existence. Amanda is steering the artistic vision as director, while Louis Lisle is helping produce the entire operation into reality. Jenn Wilson continues to co-create the work with me, helping shape its heart, challenge its assumptions and uncover new possibilities. Luke Madzudzo is quietly ensuring the technical galaxy doesn’t collapse around us, while Olayemi Z Ade has been helping excavate the emotional arc and transform a mountain of memories, stories and half-finished ideas into something theatrical and coherent. Even beyond the rehearsal room, Joanna Jowett has been part of the mission from the very beginning. While she may not be physically onboard the ship, she’s been holding things together from Starbase Command, providing administrative support and helping navigate the funding galaxy, particularly during our Arts Council England application. Every starship needs people monitoring systems back at headquarters, and Joanna has been an important part of making sure this mission could leave the launch pad in the first place. And then there’s me, somewhere in the middle of it all, attempting to navigate family drama, queerness, ADHD and warp-speed feelings.
This week, we took a moment to sit together in front of the Khandan: The Shame Generation poster at Bradford Arts Centre. Looking around at the people helping bring this universe to life felt genuinely surreal.
The image captures something much bigger than a rehearsal process. It captures three years of conversations, drafts, dead ends, breakthroughs, laughter, trust and collective care. It captures a team of people who have championed this work and challenged it to become the strongest version of itself.
This has never been a solo mission.
Khandan exists because of collaboration. Because of difficult conversations. Because of artists willing to ask hard questions. Because of people who have held me through moments of doubt and celebrated the moments of discovery.
Three years of finding the story.
Three years of asking difficult questions.
Three years of building trust.
Three years of creating a space where this work could grow into something funny, emotional, political, messy, hopeful and deeply human.
And now, sitting together beneath that poster, it suddenly feels real.
The crew is assembled.
The coordinates are locked.
The mission is set.
There is still a lot to get through over the coming days. More rehearsals, more discoveries, more problem-solving and undoubtedly a few more warp-core malfunctions along the way. But with the crew I have around me, I know we’ll get there.
Khandan: The Shame Generation is almost ready to boldly go where no family drama has gone before.
Book Your Tickets
Join us at Bradford Arts Centre from 11th to 13th June 2026 for the premiere of Khandan: The Shame Generation.
Tickets start from just £1, because we believe theatre should be accessible to everyone.
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