Growing Pains by Fathima Abdullah
Photographer Taz Rahman
Overview
“Uni days are the best days of your life.” Wrong. Growing Pains is a coming-of-age play - written by Fathima Abdullah and produced by Nalini Theatre company - which follows the journey of 17-year-old Khadija as she moves out of her home for the first time.
Alone at university, Khadija faces freedom versus faith — caught between a new world and fear of losing where she’s from.
About the play
“Growing Pains" follows 17-year-old Khadija as she navigates the hilarious and often awkward transition to university. Caught between her East London roots and a new, predominantly white university campus, she finds unexpected freedoms and friendships while grappling with the profound weight of cultural expectations, faith, and the fear of letting loved ones down. This relatable comedy deeply explores her journey as she finds herself genuinely caught between two worlds.
Throughout the story, Khadija is faced with a decision that tests her faith, morals and belief. What starts off as a friendly decline to drink, creates a silent avalanche of events that leave Khadija wondering what would be the harm of having a sip? This piece tells both a personal and widely relatable story. While countless young people transition to university, the profound emotional complexities— especially for young Muslim women— are rarely depicted on stage. For many South Asian households, leaving home for university is culturally challenging, amplifying the stakes and potential isolation.
“As someone who has grown up in this neighbourhood, this story is important for me to tell because it touches upon our internal lives; things that we feel but are often unspoken and hidden and this piece positions South Asian, Muslim female voices at the centre often which are marginalised in theatre. This play brings our experiences and our feelings to the centre and is shared by many in this borough whether it is Khadija’s narrative, or Amina’s or Sumiyah’s.
The inspiration behind this play is based on my own fears of uni and what it’s like to move out of your family home for this first time, something which is not often done in Asian families but also reflecting on the community that has shaped us and what it can feel like to be in a limbo stage. As a young emerging writer, I hope that many young adults feel they can resonate with this play but also have conversations with their peers and parents about culture and religion, and how to navigate this amongst the aches and pains of growing up from being a teenager to an adult.”
About the project partners
Nalini Theatre Company
Nalini Theatre Company was founded in 2023 by Alicia Fernandes to give emerging South Asian creatives a platform to create, and showcase their work. Within an extremely competitive industry, and coming from a working class background, we felt that without financial support, we were limited to our resources to gain opportunities that allow us to progress to our next substantial steps within our creative careers. Nalini’s productions prioritise emerging creatives of cultural diverse backgrounds, zooming in on narratives that are authentic, and resemble real lives, real stories. We now focus our work on representing unheard voices. Through a combination of primary and secondary research, we connect with community members ranging from those who are not exposed to theatre, the BAME and LGBTQ community, children in education and the elder generation.
Collective Acting Studio
Collective Acting Studio provides high-quality actor training with a focus on inclusion, diversity and opportunity. The studio offers a Part-Time Drama School, a BA in Acting and Short Courses for Professional Actors, designed to support people at different stages of their careers. Its work is centred on improving access to the performing arts for people from underrepresented backgrounds, particularly in relation to ethnicity, disability and class. Through professional training, collaboration and community engagement, Collective Acting Studio helps participants develop skills, confidence and pathways into the creative industries.
Newham Council
Newham Council is the local government authority for the London Borough of Newham. Thank you to Newham Council for partnering with us on this event by providing our event space, The Rotunda at Beckton Globe Library.
Writer
Fathima Abdullah is a British Bangladeshi Muslim writer based in East London. Her writing explores the experiences of third generation South Asian Muslims navigating life in a diaspora delving into themes of immigration, religion and community. “Growing Pains” is her debut play developed as part of the 2024/2025 Soho Theatre Writer’s Lab.
Director
Hamza Ali is a director and movement practitioner with a practice spanning direction, facilitation, and performance. Credits include Our Place (Lyric Hammersmith), The Maladies (Kiln Theatre), Community (Birmingham Rep) and Statues (Bush Theatre). He served as Resident Director for Kiss Marry Kill (National Theatre Studios / Tour) and was lead performer for Waswasa (Birmingham Hippodrome). He has facilitated workshops for NYT, Kiln Theatre, Lung Theatre, Peut-Être, and SOLT; directed original work for The Place, Edinburgh Fringe and artsdepot; and was a visiting professional/artist at RCSSD, CSM, and University of Cambridge. Hamza holds an MA in Movement from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and a BA in Drama from Royal Holloway.
Actors
Anica Hamed is a London-based actor and award-winning filmmaker. She holds a BA in Acting and Performance from the University of Northampton, is a proud member of the National Youth Theatre, and is currently training at The Collective Acting Studio.
Her recent theatre credits include Rage (2025) and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (2024) with The Collective Acting Studio, as well as Karagula and Posh with LMA London. On screen, she has appeared in the short films Caged Birds Always Sing (2025) and Confession (2024), with another project slated for release soon. As a filmmaker, Anica directed and created Office Hours (2025), which won at the Hollywood Best Indie Film Awards and is gaining recognition across the festival circuit.
Alicia Fernandes is an actor, producer, and creative currently training at Collective Acting Studio. She is the founder of Nalini Theatre Company; her debut production, *Woman Life Freedom* (Camden Fringe), was Off West End Award-nominated. Theatre and screen highlights include *Rafter Rafter* (Arts Theatre), *Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder* (Ambassadors Theatre), *The Last Blue Hour* (NFTS), and the award-winning, festival-selected short film *Voiceless*. She is drawn to socially challenging new writing, dark comedy, and work that amplifies underrepresented voices.
Berny Baretto It’s often said that it’s better late than never, well Berny admits that she’s a bit late to the acting scene. She has always wanted to be an actor, so in her Mid-50s, during that weird Covid Time in 2021, she decided to train professionally to become an actor after years of being a qualified Pharmacist. Berny played various roles during her Public Season both young and old; the highlight for her was playing Lucretia Collins in “Portrait of a Madonna” by Tennessee Williams at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre in May 2024. During her first year as a professional actor she has had a few roles, notably playing Faiza in Third Act Productions’ “Four Weigh-ins and a Funeral” in May 2025 and playing Amandeep one of the gossiping aunties in a short film, “The Best Man” (2025). She’s really excited and happy to be working with Nalini Theatre Company to perform the role of Amina in their forthcoming production of “Growing Pains”.
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