Kamal Kaan | |
---|---|
Born | Bradford, West Yorkshire [1] |
Alma mater |
University of Cambridge Glasgow Caledonian University |
Genre | Drama, Comedy, Poetry |
Kamal Kaan is a British playwright, screenwriter and actor. He was listed in Prolific North's top scriptwriters of 2017. [2] He also served as Script Consultant for Clio Barnard on the BAFTA nominated Outstanding British film Ali & Ava. [3]
Kaan was born and raised in Bradford, West Yorkshire. [1] He was educated at Dixon's City Academy and then received a scholarship to attend the University of Cambridge, where he read Architecture. [4] He was then awarded a scholarship from Shed productions to complete a Masters in TV Fiction Writing at Glasgow Caledonian University. [5] Kaan is from a working-class background and his father was textile mill worker. He is one of ten siblings and was the first from his family to go away to university. [6]
Kaan was selected for The Emerging Writers Group 2016 at The Bush Theatre, London [7] and for the BBC Writersroom Drama Room in 2017. [8] His first professional commission was in collaboration with artist David Shearing: and it all comes down to this... [9]
In 2020, Kaan wrote Us (Post 23/3). The play detailed the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on British Asian communities and was described by Emma Clayton in Telegraph and Argus as "darkly humorous". [10]
Kaan wrote a modern adaptation of Antigone, Aaliyah: After Antigone, for Bradford-based theatre company Freedom Studios in 2021. It was described as 'the most radical rewrite' [11] by Michael Billington in The Guardian and was performed to a live audience and streamed online to a remote audience simultaneously. [12] Writing in The Times Literary Supplement, Marchella Ward described it as 'an ancient play of the moment' and 'strikingly modern'. [13] The show gained four stars in The Stage as a work of 'a necessary rage, and one that we should see more of in the stories that theatre tells'. [14]
In 2022, Kaan wrote Amma, a virtual reality play about Bangladeshi women's experiences of the War of Independence. [15]
Kaan won the BBC Radio 3 Verb New Voices 2015 with his audio drama as the cloud takes its last breath. [16]
Since then he has written a number of radio dramas for BBC Radio 4, including:
In 2022, Kaan wrote 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' for the Northern Broadsides Winter Tales podcast series. [21]
Kaan worked as Script Consultant with writer and director Clio Barnard on the BAFTA nominated Outstanding British film [22] Ali & Ava. He helped to shape the story, giving feedback on treatments, scripts, locations and character research. [23] In The Observer, Mark Kermode described the film as a 'pitch perfect Bradford love story'. [24]
Kaan's work for screen includes Five Days (series 2), The Syndicate, Doctors, Ali & Ava.
On stage, Kaan has appeared in: The Chef Show, directed by Stefan Escreet, winner of the Rural Touring Show Awards 2018. [25] In 2021 he appeared in Full English (2021) by Bent Architect, winner of the Best Stage Production, 2021 at the Asian Media Awards. [26]
Other credits include: Cymbeline (2008) directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, starring James Norton. Peter Pan (2008) and the Pembroke Players Japan Tour of A Midsummer Night's Dream (2008). [27] Boy With a Suitcase (2010) by Mike Kenny at the Arcola Theatre. Plan D by Hannah Khalil (2010). Brief Encounters Freedom Studios (2015). North Country Directed by Alex Chisholm (2016). Wanted (2016) Leeds Playhouse. This Space Is Occupied (2018) Bent Architect.
Kamal Kaan | |
---|---|
Born | Bradford, West Yorkshire [1] |
Alma mater |
University of Cambridge Glasgow Caledonian University |
Genre | Drama, Comedy, Poetry |
Kamal Kaan is a British playwright, screenwriter and actor. He was listed in Prolific North's top scriptwriters of 2017. [2] He also served as Script Consultant for Clio Barnard on the BAFTA nominated Outstanding British film Ali & Ava. [3]
Kaan was born and raised in Bradford, West Yorkshire. [1] He was educated at Dixon's City Academy and then received a scholarship to attend the University of Cambridge, where he read Architecture. [4] He was then awarded a scholarship from Shed productions to complete a Masters in TV Fiction Writing at Glasgow Caledonian University. [5] Kaan is from a working-class background and his father was textile mill worker. He is one of ten siblings and was the first from his family to go away to university. [6]
Kaan was selected for The Emerging Writers Group 2016 at The Bush Theatre, London [7] and for the BBC Writersroom Drama Room in 2017. [8] His first professional commission was in collaboration with artist David Shearing: and it all comes down to this... [9]
In 2020, Kaan wrote Us (Post 23/3). The play detailed the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on British Asian communities and was described by Emma Clayton in Telegraph and Argus as "darkly humorous". [10]
Kaan wrote a modern adaptation of Antigone, Aaliyah: After Antigone, for Bradford-based theatre company Freedom Studios in 2021. It was described as 'the most radical rewrite' [11] by Michael Billington in The Guardian and was performed to a live audience and streamed online to a remote audience simultaneously. [12] Writing in The Times Literary Supplement, Marchella Ward described it as 'an ancient play of the moment' and 'strikingly modern'. [13] The show gained four stars in The Stage as a work of 'a necessary rage, and one that we should see more of in the stories that theatre tells'. [14]
In 2022, Kaan wrote Amma, a virtual reality play about Bangladeshi women's experiences of the War of Independence. [15]
Kaan won the BBC Radio 3 Verb New Voices 2015 with his audio drama as the cloud takes its last breath. [16]
Since then he has written a number of radio dramas for BBC Radio 4, including:
In 2022, Kaan wrote 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' for the Northern Broadsides Winter Tales podcast series. [21]
Kaan worked as Script Consultant with writer and director Clio Barnard on the BAFTA nominated Outstanding British film [22] Ali & Ava. He helped to shape the story, giving feedback on treatments, scripts, locations and character research. [23] In The Observer, Mark Kermode described the film as a 'pitch perfect Bradford love story'. [24]
Kaan's work for screen includes Five Days (series 2), The Syndicate, Doctors, Ali & Ava.
On stage, Kaan has appeared in: The Chef Show, directed by Stefan Escreet, winner of the Rural Touring Show Awards 2018. [25] In 2021 he appeared in Full English (2021) by Bent Architect, winner of the Best Stage Production, 2021 at the Asian Media Awards. [26]
Other credits include: Cymbeline (2008) directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, starring James Norton. Peter Pan (2008) and the Pembroke Players Japan Tour of A Midsummer Night's Dream (2008). [27] Boy With a Suitcase (2010) by Mike Kenny at the Arcola Theatre. Plan D by Hannah Khalil (2010). Brief Encounters Freedom Studios (2015). North Country Directed by Alex Chisholm (2016). Wanted (2016) Leeds Playhouse. This Space Is Occupied (2018) Bent Architect.