Waterside is welcoming the debut show from Turtle Key Arts and Sadiq Ali, The Chosen Haram, to kick start the Pride in Trafford celebrations on Wednesday.
The Chosen Haram, is a two-hander, movement-based show, with a unique take on circus. Performed almost entirely on two Chinese poles, this emotionally candid, heart-warming and high octane show fuses dance, movement and extraordinary physical strength all set to a banging soundtrack to tell the story of two gay men, their chance meeting through a dating app, the highs and lows of their subsequent relationship and the social, cultural and personal barriers they must overcome.
Audiences can expect a heady mix of love, drugs and Islam; the show is based on a combination of lead artist Sadiq Ali’s personal experience, as well as interviews with members of the LGBTQ+ community who identify as (ex) Muslim. It is an exploration into the personal struggles faced by many people whose upbringing contradicts their personal truths and how this can lead to self-destructive behaviour. Something that is “Haram” is forbidden by Islam.
Growing up as a queer Muslim boy in Edinburgh, Sadiq Ali led a double life, between attending the Mosque for school to finding the circus where he could live authentically. His life was split in two. A diagnosis of HIV in 2014 proved to be a turning point, he knew that he could use the circus discipline to challenge perceptions of being HIV positive and make sense of his own story.
These experiences have inspired his debut show The Chosen Haram which was a big hit at the Edinburgh Fringe 2022 – it was the show everyone was raving about, it received awards and five-star reviews with a sold-out run.
The Chosen Haram is part of Pride in Trafford, an annual exploration and celebration of LGBTQ+ arts. Running from Wednesday 17 – Saturday 20 May ‘23 and now in its fifth fabulous year, Pride in Trafford brings together an exciting and diverse range of established and up and coming performers, from comedy and cabaret to theatre and movement, whose work represents and showcases what it means to them to be out and proud in a changing and challenging world.
Wed 17 May, 19:00 | £15 / £13
prideintrafford.org/2023/
Waterside, Sale M33 7ZF
Pride in Trafford runs from Wednesday 17 May until Saturday 20 May 2023.
