Q&A with Side eYe Productions
5 Nov 2024
We sat down with the BBC Writersroom Popcorn Award and the Untapped Award-winning production company Side eYe to talk about their next play, Desperate Times.
Here's what they had to tell us!
Tell us about Side eYe Productions. Who are you and how did you start out?
Side eYe is a theatre collective comprising up-and-coming producers, directors, actors, writers and developers. The collective aims to provide an outlet for sharing underrepresented stories while addressing the lack of roles for Somali and Muslim women in the industry. Side Eye's Desperate Times, is among four plays the group have developed including the acclaimed Dugsi Dayz. Our commitment to storytelling and addressing representation gaps for Somali and Muslim women continues to inspire our creative endeavours. Achievements have included winning the BBC Writersroom Popcorn Award and the Untapped Award 2023.
Side eYe began as a group of friends performing together in a small café, united by a love for music and creativity. Since 2018, we’ve grown and taken on more ambitious projects, producing annual performances that are now a celebrated part of the Somali Week Festival, supported by Kayd Somali Arts and Culture, during Black History Month. As our shows have expanded, so has our team, bringing even more energy and talent to each production!
2. Side eYe Productions does such a great job bringing unique British Somali stories to the stage. What inspired you to create Desperate Times, and what can Bristol audiences look forward to with this show?.
The spark for Desperate Times, as Amal Abdi shared, came from personal experience—she was crammed onto a packed Central Line train one day and thought, “If only I were pregnant, I'd get a seat!” From that moment, the character of Lucky was born: a young woman who pretends to be pregnant, setting off a chain of chaotic and comedic events. This story’s absurdity and humour made us excited to bring it to life on stage. It’s a fun, relatable look at a Somali woman in her 20s navigating life’s messiness.
Too often, stories about Muslim and Somali women aren’t written with us in mind as an audience member. What makes Amal’s script unique is that Lucky’s story unfolds and lets the character be full and not just in the bounds of her faith and race.This approach brings something essential to both our community and the broader audience—a lighthearted, deeply human narrative, rather than one solely defined by what we call the white gaze.. With this script and our previous productions, we’re committed to sharing a variety of stories—stories that reflect what we want to see and celebrate within our community.
3. The story of Lucky is a teacher with a bit of a thrill for petty crime—sounds like a lot of fun. What was it about her story that made you think, “This needs to be a play”?
When we put out a call for new writers, Amal’s script stood out because it was bold, raw, and absurd in all the right ways. We’ve done one-woman shows before, but nothing like this! It’s experimental, ambitious, and a big challenge to capture the emotional range of the play. It’s a story about the complexities of being in your 20s—dealing with mistakes, growing up, and facing the uncertainty of young adulthood. We felt this was an important story to tell and one that many people could relate to.
4. Side eYe is all about creating opportunities and breaking down barriers in theatre. How does Desperate Times fit into that mission, and how does the team go about finding fresh voices like Amal Abdi’s?
Yes, creating opportunities is at the heart of what we do at Side eYe. After the success of Dugsi Dayz, we were eager to connect with other aspiring writers in the Somali creative scene. We held a call-out for submissions and received a lot of amazing work, but Amal’s voice stood out to us.
Desperate Times fits perfectly with our mission because Amal is early in her playwriting career—other than contributing writing The Hijabi Monologues at Bush Theatre, this is her first full-length play, which is incredibly exciting for us. It’s a chance to support a new writer and create space for fresh voices in the industry.
Everyone involved in Desperate Times is new to theatre—our actor, Nadjma Abshir has never acted before, and our directors, Fatima Ali Omar and Adna Ahmed debuted as directors. This is exactly the kind of opportunity we want to provide: for us, it’s not about having previous training and a long resume but just having the passion to do theatre. For us, it’s all about helping emerging talent get their foot in the door and giving them the space to grow and for the past year the Desperate Times team have all made brilliant strides!
5. After the huge success of Dugsi Dayz, what’s different about Desperate Times? How have audiences in other cities reacted, and what are you hoping for here in Bristol?
Dugsi Dayz brought together a dynamic ensemble of four young women stuck in Dugsi (Islamic school) detention—a playful nod to The Breakfast Club. It centred on the challenges teenagers face within our community, as well as the ups and downs of growing up in London. The enthusiastic response to Dugsi Dayz has been amazing, opening doors for more audiences to seek out Side eYe productions.
Desperate Times, on the other hand, tells a very different story, zeroing in on the unique experience of being in your 20s. It tackles themes like mental health and loneliness in a brilliantly comedic, wacky way. Unlike Dugsi Dayz, Desperate Times is a one-woman show, and our incredible actor Nadjma brings Lucky’s wild, funny, and often chaotic journey to life in a gripping performance. While both plays are comedies, Desperate Times is distinct in its focus and format, offering a new twist with every scene.
Our recent tour brought Desperate Times to audiences in Liverpool (Unity Theatre), Birmingham (Hippodrome), and Sheffield (Showroom), where it received a riotous response. Audiences found it funny, shocking, and highly relatable. The play’s universal themes resonate with people across communities, and during our Q&As, audiences often tell us how much they connect with Lucky and wonder what drives her unpredictable choices. They root for her growth, love the supporting characters she encounters, and come away wanting more.
For Bristol, we’re hoping for just as much love, laughter, and engagement! We’re thrilled to introduce Lucky and her antics to a new crowd. Beyond the laughs, we hope audiences connect with the underlying themes of the show, leaving the theatre with a bit more compassion and understanding for each other.
6. It’s exciting to see Side eYe’s work reaching new audiences. What do you hope people in Bristol take away from Desperate Times, and what’s next for the company?
Since Dugsi Dayz, we’ve reached audiences from all walks of life, and it’s been incredible to see such a diverse range of people connect with our work. For Bristol, we hope they’ll see Somali women as multifaceted and enjoy the show as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it. Desperate Times is for everyone—not just Somalis—and we hope it will encourage people to explore our culture in a fresh, fun way.
As for what’s next, we’re pumped to keep bringing different stories to the stage. We’ve teamed up with the Royal Court to create a writers’ room—a safe space for Muslim women and nonbinary writers to work on their plays and tell their stories. We’re also hosting scratch nights where anyone can show off new work, get feedback, and connect with other creatives.
There’s a lot coming up, so keep an eye out! Follow us on social media for all the latest updates
