‘I read the script and I cried’: how the play Planet Omar is helping children make sense of Islamophobia
A new adaptation brings the bestselling book about an adventurous London Muslim boy to the stage
A new play based on Zanib Mian’s bestselling books about an eight-year-old British-Pakistani Muslim boy in London hopes to “remind young audiences that we are all more similar than we are different”.
Justin Kendal-Sadiq, 24, stars in the titular role in the stage adaptation of Planet Omar by actor and playwright Asif Khan. Kendal-Sadiq, who appeared in the Bafta-winning CBBC series, Secret Life of Boys, describes the play as “an incredibly heartwarming story that brings you into the real everyday life of a Muslim family”.
The children’s book series follows Omar as he navigates family, friendships, faith and life changes, while gently exploring themes such as Islamophobia through a child’s imagination.
Directed by Sameena Hussain, a former associate director at Leeds Playhouse, the play follows Omar as he moves home and school and faces bullying in his new neighbourhood. Through Omar’s eyes, we see how he overcomes these challenges, using adventure and imagination to make sense of the world around him.
The play premiered at the Leeds Playhouse in April and is being staged at London’s Unicorn Theatre from 21 May. Written for an audience aged seven and up, Planet Omar aims to help young audiences build a sense of empathy and resilience.
“It’s a fantastical world of imagination told through the lens of a young boy who has endless energy, enthusiasm, and lives through a lens of kindness and curiosity,” Kendal-Sadiq says. “It is funny, it is witty, there are flying dragons and giant blocks of cheese and we have these massive climbing frames. You just get brought into a world that has so much joy and wonder.”
Beneath the story’s sense of brightness sit more serious themes. “I read the script and I cried — I cried sad tears and I cried happy tears,” says Kendal-Sadiq.
Some of the language used by the character of Omar’s bully in Planet Omar is deliberately uncomfortable. Playwright Khan’s intention is not to shock, Kendal-Sadiq says, but to reflect the consequences of Islamophobic or discriminatory words, especially among children.
Kendal-Sadiq, feels particularly close to the story, recalling the first time he was abused because of the colour of his skin.
Growing up in Bollington, a small town in Cheshire, the actor says that aged 11, he was regularly called the P word by his classmates — a term he had never encountered before.
“I don’t think it was that people intended to be really nasty. But without that awareness of the impact of those words, some people can feel like they don’t mean anything,” he says.
Looking back at his childhood, Kendal-Sadiq says he and the cast hope the play will encourage children to consider the words they use and hear, and help give tools to navigate today’s increasing polarisation.
“We are experiencing more division in the country than we’ve seen previously and I think we are seeing more extreme views come to the forefront,” Kendal-Sadiq says, adding that theplay is for all audiences, not solely Muslims.
“I hope that anyone from any background who has ever been made to feel like difference is a bad thing comes to our show and feels a little bit less alone, and a little bit more empowered to go out into the world and to be proud of themselves for who they are,” he says.
“More than anything, what the show presents to audiences is the potential of a kinder and more curious world.”
Planet Omar is on at the Unicorn Theatre in London 21 May-7 June, and then at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre 18-21 June.
