How have Muslim characters and themes been portrayed on the English stage, both historically and today?

This roundtable brings together award-winning playwright Hannah Khalil (Hakawatis, Globe; A Museum in Baghdad, RSC); actor, poet, and award-winning playwright Azan Ahmed (Deen & Dunya); and Dr Lubaaba Al-Azami (Travellers in the Golden Realm: How Mughal India Connected England to the World) to explore how Islam and Muslim identities have been represented in Shakespeare’s plays and beyond.

Drawing on Khalil’s BBC Radio 4 drama Margaret White and the Alcoran of Mahomet, which reimagines the 1649 circumstances around the first English publication of the Qur’an, the conversation reflects on how early modern engagements with Islam continue to shape contemporary performance and views, and considers possibilities for more nuanced and responsible representation.

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