Nyla Levy
My Bomb Look Big In This?
Nyla Levy is a theatre maker with a passion for creating politically fueled, and emotionally centred pieces. This is a dark comedy exploring home-grown extremism and the effects of Islamophobia on the youth of today. Identity, Race and growing up at at the heart of this play.
At what point does skin colour become synonymous with identity? Does identity come from your ethnic background, where you grew up or both? And what can widespread prejudice push a person to do…?
Since 9/11 and increasingly more so now with Brexit and Trump - the clashes between races especially the Asian/Muslim community have been increasing, and this is something that is continuing to rise as the years go by. These clashes and the feeling of a loss of identity for British Asians is an area I want to explore and bring to light.
Aisha and Yasmin are joined at the hip BFFs from London. As the news changes daily with increasing Islamophobia in a Trump/ Brexit world, the two try to make sense of the Britain they live in today. Yasmin wants to reject the city she used to call home before it completely rejects
her, but Aisha doesn’t see it that way. Aisha loves Yasmin’s passion but also knows how Aisha sees a different London to her bestie, but when Yasmin suddenly disappears into the arms of ISIS, Aisha must decide whether there is any truth or hope in Yasmin’s new found home.
As an actress, I have worked in Theatre In Education projects exploring extremism – it was here that children were able to question and understand the driving factors behind young girls and
boys leaving to fight in Syria. I felt that this side of the story has not been told that much, only shown in the media as shock headlines with little exploration or acknowledgment of the driving factors behind it.
