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.
