Books by Sabrina Mahfouz

A powerful meditation on the influence of the British Empire in the Middle East, intertwining history, politics, poetry, myth and personal experience from poet and playwright Sabrina Mahfouz

An electrifying, bittersweet love story with echoes of Romeo and Juliet, set in a society divided by racial bigotry and a world rocked by terrorism. Adapted from Malorie Blackman's best-selling novels. Sephy (a Cross) is the daughter of the Deputy Prime Minister. Callum is the son of a Nought agitator. United by a shared sense of injustice as children, and separated by intolerance as they grow up, their desire to be together begins to eclipse all family loyalty - sparking a political crisis of unimaginable proportions. 'I wanted to turn society as we know it on its head, with new names for the major divisions, i.e. Noughts (the underclass) and Crosses (the majority, ruling society)' - Malorie Blackman 'Dominic Cooke's excellent adaptation... a dark, politically unsentimentalised story about teenage love transcending the barriers in a deeply divided society... heart-rending' - Independent

The women you've seen play today, we are more than football players, more than athletes and sportspeople of the very highest degree. We are heroines or heroes - or however you wanna say it - and we should be taking our place on posters and platforms and TV stations, changing the way perfect is thought of, changing the way girls can be brought up. Offside tells the story of women's football in the UK through the eyes of a modern professional female footballer as she seeks to find a future in the game through exploring its past.Mickey is alone in the locker room; she deliberates with herself about the biggest decision of her life, her career, her love - her football. But in a world where sexism is rife and a feeling of self-limitation reduces opportunities, fear makes for poor decisions while joy flourishes in the unlikeliest of places.Offside has been researched with top women's teams, Manchester City Women's FC and Millwall Lionesses, where many players, sports scientists and others who are integral to the development of the game have been interviewed to gain an in-depth insight into their world. The play blends a dramatic narrative with performance poetry and chanting to evoke the pace and passion of the women's game.The production, by Futures Theatre, has been developed in partnership with the National Football Museum, Manchester, and the IWM, London.

A GUARDIAN CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019, this stunning collection of new and classic poems from around the world celebrates the diversity of life on our green and blue planet, to be shared with all the family. With new poems from Raymond Antrobus, Mona Arshi, Kate Tempest, Hollie McNish, Dean Atta, Sabrina Mahfouz and more.

A dynamic collection of three of Sabrina Mahfouz's pieces for the theatre, published alongside a selection of her poetry.Dry Ice A critically acclaimed solo show about a young stripper, which was produced at by the Underbelly (Edinburgh) and the Bush Theatre (London) and directed by David Schwimmer. It played at the Contact (Manchester), the Soutbank Centre (London) and the Bush (London) as part of Madani Younis's debut season in 2012.One Hour OnlyAn 'upmarket' brothel. It's Forensic Biology student Marley's first night at her new job and AJ - twenty-one, good-looking and intelligent - is her unexpected first client. One Hour Only formed part of the Old Vic New Voices' first ever Edinburgh Season at the Underbelly in association with IdeasTap.CleanZainab, Chloe & Katya, London's best 'clean' criminals and perpetrators of victimless crime, are forced together in an unlikely trio. This feisty trio soon become the unlikely action heroes of an adventure left to men. A short play commissioned by the Traverse Theatre, 2012, Clean was part of the A Play, A Pie & A Pint Season at Òran Mor, Glasgow and The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh.

Examining taboos, surprising sexual encounters, the politics of desire, the vastly differing viewpoints on sex work and most prominently, the status of women's equality in the UK today

Respect women, respect girls. Respect yourselves. Remember you are everyone who''s gone before you and you are nobody that has ever been, so make it count, make it special, make a difference, make people listen, love the women who have loved you and watch us make the world move to a better place. For Layla, every day is a battleground.The pay gap, the thigh gap, over-sexed pop and selfies that are photoshopped - they''re just part of the world she lives in.But that world is about to change.While breaking out of her bedroom - and with drama, comedy, poetry and music as her weapons - Layla breaks down and makes sense of the realities, difficulties and absurdities of teenage life in the UK today.Collected from a bespoke national survey, the voices of a thousand UK teens are brought to life in Layla. Their ambitions, concerns, role-models and regrets are woven together by award-winning Sabrina Mahfouz and theatre company Theatre Centre, offering a hard-hitting, yet hopeful, story.Layla''s Room received its world premiere at Redbridge Drama Centre on 15 September 2016 in a production by Theatre Centre. It is ideal for students and young performers between 16 and 18 years old.

I want to be iconic. I want to be beautiful, reckless, feared, hated, ahead of the times. I want to be different, I want to be dangerous . . . London, 2001. Raves. Revision. Re-election.Nadia is swept up in one hot summer''s night of love that promises endless possibilities. Drinking, dancing, hope, ambition, lust, greed . . . and decisions that will determine the rest of her life.Rhythmically underscored by a live mix of old-school UK Garage, With A Little Bit of Luck explores the legacy of a cultural movement that defined the hopes of a generation. It received its world premiere at the Latitude Festival 2015 and then was produced as a tour by Paines Plough and Latitude from 13 April 2016.

I cook here, create here,make here be as much of life as I canbecause outside of thisI'm not safe,I don't know the way.Chef tells the gripping story of how one woman went from being a haute-cuisine head chef to a convicted inmate running a prison kitchen. Leading us through her world of mouth-watering dishes and heart-breaking memories, Chef questions our attitudes to food, prisoners, violence, love and hope. Inspired by an interview Mahfouz conducted with celebrity chef Ollie Dabbous, Chef studies food as the ultimate art form taking stimulus from Dabbous's obsession with simplicity and making something the best it can be. Featuring Sabrina Mahfouz's distinct, lyrical style in abundance, Chef received its premiere at the Underbelly, Cowgate, during the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning a Fringe First, and was produced at the Soho Theatre, London, in June 2015.