Permission review – one rebellious woman's search for independence from Karachi to London
What does liberation mean? That's the dilemma at the heart of Hunia Chawla's play Permission. Set across continents, on rooftops in Karachi and in university halls in London, it follows Hanna (generously performed by Anisa Butt), a young Pakistani woman with a rebellious spirit, who moves across the world in search of independence.
Chawla's writing is knotty and crackles with conflict. Hanna feels stifled by the patriarchal structures of her home town, which prevent her from walking the streets alone or dating without fear of being stopped by the police. But life in London brings with it its own confinements. Here, she meets Anushe (a straight-talking Rea Malhotra Mukhtyar), a third-year student who encourages her to join protests against the university's acceptance of funding from arms dealers – overlooking that speaking out carries far greater risks for someone like Hanna, who is living in the UK on a visa.
Ultimately, neither Karachi nor London gives Hanna the full life of autonomy she craves. The comparisons between the cities feel nuanced and layered, showing how systems of control operate in different contexts. Behind the politics, though, is a platonic love story. While Hanna leaves for London, her best, friend Minza (also played by Mukhtyar) chooses to stay and study in Karachi, joining the Aurat Marches on the city's streets.
Despite their distance and growing differences, their friendship lives on through phone calls. The pair's conversation bounces from teenage anxieties to bigger discussions about women's rights. Directed by Neetu Singh, it is in these scenes of dialogue where the play lands on its quietest, most intimate flashes. But their affection is not quite enough to wipe away the play's creative inconsistencies.
It starts with Butt, as Hanna, performing one side of a conversation; immediately, Permission centres itself as a story about women's experiences. Later, though, the voices of other male characters begin to play through speakers. What emerges is a play that feels torn between competing impulses.
There are other gripes, too. Audience interaction is thrown in a little too late to feel authentic, while a scene where Hanna is found smoking weed by her father appears to have no consequences. It's frustrating, as Permission has the beginnings of something truly unique, but too many decisions lack clear reasoning, leaving the play's bold ideas only partially realised.
Permission is at Tara theatre, London, from 30 May until 7 June
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Review Geek
an hour ago
- The Review Geek
Good Boy – K-drama Episode 8 Recap & Review
The Aimless Bullet Episode 8 of Good Boy begins with Han-na narrating how some days feel like a stray bullet. That stray bullet has well and truly pierced Han-na's heart though, as she and Dong-ju wind up kissing, which obviously is where the last episode closed out. Han-na lets Dong-ju stay the night but he winds up sleeping in while she heads out to work. Han-na has a big day ahead of her, given it's the community day with the police at the Insung Metropolitan Police Agency. The whole team are there, doing what they can to entertain the kids. The commissioner is still pissed though, but he's doing a little better thanks to Dong-ju giving him a massage. As a result he gets a 30 day suspension. In that time though, the team decide to take this one step at a time, rather than going right for the big players. Tio begin with, they're going to focus on the drugs and the supply route of materials seized from Bbong-pil. However, Yeon-ha and the others are starting to grow impatient with Ju-young. The ships leave in a week and they need their gear out on the streets but right now, there's a transport delay. Ju-young is arrogant and claims he likes seeing Dong-ju and the others squirm, but his cockiness could be his undoing. As he heads to Insung Port to oversee the ephedrine, the team figure out its location too. Now, Man-sik has been itching like crazy and they also figure out that he's been bitten by red fire ants. These ants were found at the port last year too. The ants came in with the cargo that passed through Russia, which is the same route the Ephedrine came in. Given the risk, they call in an extermination team to do a quarantine sweep. The team show up dressed as quarantine workers, but they're not alone. Yeon-ha is here too and the group quickly handcuff her. She tries to wind up Jong-hyeon and even begins seizing on the ground too. Yeon-ha manages to get away, while the group find the ephedrine in her absence. Unfortunately, Jong-hyeon winds up bitten but he's allergic to the bites. Jong-hyeon is crazed and begs them not to inject him (given he's scared of needles) so Dong-ju knocks him out and they inject him all the same, in a rather humorous turn of events. The team show up back at HQ with the drugs and get a celebratory meal out of it, but there's no after-party for Dong-ju. Jong-hyeon lets Dong-ju stay in his spare room, with boxes piled high. As he looks through the boxes though, Dong-ju finds old newspaper clippings of Jong-hyeon's career and how it ended thanks to an eye injury during fencing. The stick went right through his face and into his eye, which happens to be the same side that Dong-ju punched him on. Ju-young is pissed when he finds out what's gone down, and the group look to him for inspiration over what to do next. He decides to try and get it back, intercepting the drugs en-route to the secured facility. Meanwhile, we find out that Lee Gwang-se isn't actually dead. The hair transplant guy is still alive, given the shot missed him. Leo received a call from his mama at the time and promised her he wouldn't go against her wishes. Ju-young though is not so righteous as he tasks Gwang-se to tell the team exactly what's been said at this meeting. He does as instructed, and the team are now convinced that Min has a mole inside the agency so they need to figure out who that is. Unfortunately, Ju-young is playing 4D chess here. The Commissioner gave the order to pull the riot police away to city hall to quell a protest, leaving the transport severely under protected. With only a light team to protect it, the transport heads through Jungdong Tunnel, and is prompted ambushed. The group come under attack, one after another, and they all find themselves forced to fight. Jae-hong's car is flipped upside down, while the others all have their own battles to contend with. Although Dong-ju manages to come out on top VS a whole gang of motorcyclists, the fate for everybody else is still unclear, leaving everything on an agonizing cliffhanger. The Episode Review The fight at the end of Good Boy is easily one of the best moments of the whole K-drama. Seeing the team each fighting their own battles, with slightly different weapons or styles, works so well to show their own growth and how these misfits have come together. That is a brutal cliffhanger to end this week's double-bill of episodes on though and after yesterday's rather slow chapter, this one absolutely floors it with a pulsating episode of comedy shenanigans, plot progression and action. Seeing more context around Jong-hyeon's past is a nice touch too, while Ju-young's plan appears as if it's going to come off without a hitch… but things are a bit different this time. Not only has Dong-ju managed to come out of his fight on top, he looks ready to jump in and help the others too. However, I'm not sure if everybody will make it through to the other side. Maybe it's a bit of a wild prediction here but the show feels like it needs one of the team members to be killed off to really ratchet up the tension to the highest level possible. Whether the writers actually would go this far or not though, is debatable. However, even without that, Good Boy has been a super enjoyable watch and that ending makes next week's double-bill a must-watch. Previous Episode Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Shaughna Phillips shows off her bump on Love Island AfterSun as Maya Jama congratulates the former contestant on her pregnancy
Shaughna Phillips showcased her bump on Love Island AfterSun on Sunday, hours after announcing she is pregnant. The former islander, 31, who is also a mother to Lucia, two, looked radiant as she appeared as a special guest on the ITV 2 spin off show. To discuss her her happy news, the blonde beauty wore an elegant white wrap dress. Appearing alongside Demi Jones, Shaughna was congratulated by host Maya Jama after she revealed she is expecting her second child. Walking over to the two guests, Maya said: 'Hello, congratulations are in order, Shaughna!' The host continued: 'I mean amazing. Baby number two?' which the blonde beauty replied. 'two, here you go and busy!'. Taking to Instagram earlier on Sunday, Shaughna revealed she was expecting as she posted a video of herself taking a pregnancy test and showed off her growing bump. She also shared a sweet video of her daughter Lucia wearing a t-shirt saying 'Big Sis' and 'In my big sister era' to go with the announcement. Shaughna did not reveal who the father of her baby is as she wrote: 'Adding a little more love to our family…' Following the birth of her daughter Lucia in April 2023, Shaughna's boyfriend of four years, Billy Webb, 29, was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply 4.5kg of cocaine worth at least £360,000. However Shaughna revealed in November that the father of her little girl had been released after serving only 12 months of his sentence and the family reunited to enjoy a Christmas grotto together. The blonde bombshell has been very open with her fans throughout the ordeal and previously revealed on her podcast Oh, Baby with Shaughna and Holly that she had struggled to come to terms with the situation. She said: 'It's the most gut-wrenching position to be in. Taking to Instagram on Sunday , Shaughna revealed she was expecting as she posted a video of herself taking a pregnancy test and showed off her growing bump 'And, I mean, before I even answer this question, I want to just put it out there that you can judge me all you want, but please don't let me know, because I feel like unless you've been in this position you can't really have an opinion on it. 'Because before I was in this position, before I had a baby, if you had asked me would I ever, ever take my child into a prison, the answer would be absolutely not. Anyone that does that is crazy. 'And then, lo and behold, I'm now in this position. And I think the thing is, we're always going to be co-parents. 'And I know that me and my dad had the best relationship ever, and to me, my dad is the best person in the world. 'And I don't want Lucia to think differently of her father. I would never, ever stop him from seeing her, ever.' Sharing an adorable video to her Instagram announcing he had been released, the reality star revealed that she and her partner had taken Lucia to see Santa and added she never thought this day would come. She captioned the clip: 'If you had told me this time last year, that me and Billy would be taking Lucia to see Santa next Christmas, I probably wouldn't have let myself believe you 'The best couple of days, this Christmas is going to be so special'. The star also revealed to MailOnline that she had struggled raising her daughter as a single mother. She said: 'Having a newborn baby, hormones are all over the place and I was just struggling' 'Anyone who's had kids they'll probably say that when they're a newborn it's easiest because they just lie there and need to be fed but as they get older and they can talk back and say no... It's exhausting.'
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Reform will ensure non-doms contribute to Britain
It should come as no surprise that, over the past few decades, many of the UK's most successful and influential business minds have left the country in droves – a clear and troubling sign of national decline. Over the past 10 years, UK policy toward non-domiciled taxpayers ('non-doms') has lurched from piecemeal tightening under successive Conservative chancellors to outright abolition under the current Labour Government. The result? A record-breaking and alarming exodus of high-spending, high-tax-paying residents, leaving an estimated £7 billion yearly hole in public finances and inflicting huge collateral damage on London's position as Europe's financial centre. The social contract between the rich and the poor is at an all-time low. Public trust in the tax system has been eroded by perceptions that elites play by a different set of rules. In the past, your average Briton saw little to no benefit from the wealthy in their midst. If anything, it created greater division and hostility. Reform UK is determined to change this. We are the party of working people – the party of those with alarm clocks who get up in the morning and work hard, whether they're at the higher end of the financial scale or the lower end. Our approach is different, transparent, and designed to directly benefit the hard-working backbone of this nation. Unlike the opaque financial mechanisms of the past, where wealth seemed to vanish into hidden pots of money that ordinary people could not see, Reform UK is committed to doing things differently. We will rebuild the social contract by ensuring that every wealthy individual who wishes to move here makes a tangible contribution to Britain's lowest earners. Our policy is simple: Britain must be a place where success is celebrated, not punished with excessive taxes, crippling energy costs, or punitive inheritance levies. We will actively encourage the return of wealth and talent to the United Kingdom – on the clear condition that those who come here deliver immediate, visible benefits to our workers. Here's how it works: every high-net-worth newcomer (or returning leaver) will pay a £250,000 one-off entry contribution in return for a stable, indefinite remittance-style regime on offshore income and a 20-year inheritance-tax shield. Crucially, 100 per cent of this contribution is hypothecated to Britain's lowest-paid full-time workers, delivered automatically by HMRC as a tax-free cash dividend. This means roughly 2.5 million hard-working Britons – the grafters who keep this country running – will receive an annual cash bonus, sent directly to their bank accounts at the end of the financial year. Thanks to this policy, in a low-uptake scenario with 6,000 cards issued annually, we'll generate a £1.5 billion fund, resulting in a tax-free annual dividend of £600 per worker. In a high-uptake scenario with 10,000 cards, this could deliver a £2.5 billion fund, providing £1,000 per worker. This isn't just a number. It's money in the pockets of those who need it most, from cleaners to nurses to small-business owners. Our policy is not a 'golden visa' or a backdoor to citizenship. It is a one-time flat tax paid by newcomers in exchange for the certainty of a favourable tax status. Individuals will still be liable for all standard UK taxes on UK-sourced income, property, and spending. But they won't be taxed on offshore income and gains for the duration of their agreed status. Pay your quarter million pounds upfront, and enjoy UK residency without worldwide taxation hassles. After all, this is still the best country in the world, and many of the world's wealthy want to move here but are deterred by the economic downsides. Unlike the old, indefinite non-dom arrangement under the Tories, which lacked transparency and failed to benefit ordinary people, our solution is immediate, visible, and mutually beneficial for both newcomers and the hard-working British worker struggling to make ends meet. Unlike Labour's punitive approach, which drives wealth away, we incentivise the rich to return to Britain. Over the past decade, the number of non-dom taxpayers has plummeted from over 120,000 to fewer than 80,000. The failed approaches of both Labour and the Conservatives have cost this country billions annually. Reform UK's plan will reverse this trend, capturing revenue from global wealth, channelling funds to support the working class, and restoring London as a global powerhouse for business, finance, and investment. The driving ambition of Reform UK is to put the lives of everyday British citizens first – and this policy does exactly that. We are the party of working people, and we are building a Britain where wealth and opportunity are shared, not hoarded. By ensuring that every pound contributed by the wealthy goes directly to those who get up early and work hard, we are creating a fairer, stronger, and more prosperous nation for all.
