Best friends Zaid and Neelam shared a dream: get away, make it as writers, build a future where they're free to be themselves. Together, always. Years later, things are far from what they expected. Zaid's life has kinda stalled – he's half out the closet, living at home and still chasing the dream. While Neelam's has taken a completely different path as she chooses to prioritise her own happiness. As their lives pull further apart, leaving a mess of unsaid things between them, it's going to take something real to bring them back together. Waleed Akhtar's play The Real Ones is a funny and honest love letter to platonic soulmates. It was first performed at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2024, directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike, and starring Nathaniel Curtis and Mariam Haque.
"'Cements Akhtar's standing as a fearless writer with oodles of talent and bravura who can navigate plot with feeling... the script has a pull and charisma that makes you want to keep on watching'"
Guardian
"'Intelligent and touching... effervescent warmth and sequin-bright wit... tender and heartfelt... peppered with sharp-clawed one-liners on race and sexuality'"
Telegraph
"'Beautifully observed... where Akhtar really nails it is in perfectly capturing the special kind of love between a gay man and his female best friend - and the peculiar sadness of losing that love when life gets in the way'"
