International Emmy Award-winning writer Omar Khan talks new play ‘Blue Kimera’: “Life is not a genre, it’s all of these things at once”

The National Youth Theatre celebrates the 2024 edition of its StoryFest showcase, performing pieces by new upcoming talent through a series of workshop productions. Guillermo Nazara chats with one of its featured authors, to learn all the facts about a play exploring the very edges of human nature.

Two broken souls connected by the bleakness of their past, suddenly taking justice into their own hands. With recent successful films like Joker or musicals such as Heathers, it looks like the idea of outcasts taking revenge has become one of the lead drivers in today’s narrative. Why do you think this is?

They resonate not because of what they do, not the crimes, but the idea that people are taking matters into their own hands, they’re not being a victim or being beaten. I think people are really interested in taking ownership of their lives, life is such an active endeavour and we can be fooled into the idea that life’s easy. It’s inherently hard, it’s tragic, we die at the end, we lose loved ones, everyday can be a constant battle to make the best. Not that it’s all misery, but life is difficult so audiences are interested in characters that respond to that by taking matters into their own hands.

What prompted you to write this piece?

I write based on experiences. It’s based on a girl I used to know and how she made me feel, writing this story was my version of trying to understand her more and not judge her. I never said yes to any of the wild things she suggested, and the story is what if i would have said yes to the worst thing 

What has the development of this show been like?

I get a seedling of an idea in my brain – someone says something and it’s like a hit, sometimes it’s exciting, sometimes it’s exhausting. I write stuff on my whiteboard, watch stuff similar to the story I want to tell. Then I track it scene by scene. I find the dialogue a bit easy. I wrote it in 2 and a half days – it was 224 pages – but to plot it and get the story right was much longer. Then I sent it to some people including the lovely Paul Roseby Artistic Director at National Youth Theatre who liked it. National Youth Theatre did a table read in October 2023. Now it’s been cut down to 90 pages and it’s arrived at StoryFest.

Would you say the show serves as a comment on how we treat (or mistreat) people as a society?

I think it serves as a comment on how quick we can be to judge. It’s natural, it’s human. You wanna be safe, so you judge quickly, I don’t think there’s anything good from judging someone quickly. There’s nuance in why people make the decisions they do. I’m not trying to justify any of the actions in the play – I’m just saying we should be able to talk about why they did it, so it might not be able to happen again, rather than judgement.

As a writer, which have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced when creating this work?

Being disciplined with the indulgence I like to take in my work. I like words. I like people talking, but sometimes the story has to come first. The NYT are good: I’ve had loads of conversations with people about taking a punt on a script, and the National Youth Theatre is one of the few places in the country where you will go and get something on in a room, in front of a paying audience – I’m so supremely grateful for the space to telling my story. 

Why choose comedy to tackle such dramatic themes?

It’s just because stuff is heavy, you don’t want to shout for an hour and a half about how heavy things are. With great writers like Martin McDonagh, characters say something serious but giggle along the way. Life is not a genre, it’s all of these things at once. All these emotions are so closely linked. The difference between comedy and horror is music. Bollywood does this really well, a bit of everything – I’m increasingly proud of my south Asian heritage.

Why should people come and see Blue Kimera?

This is a great story. It’s young people, it’s young voices, it’s the zeitgeist of now. You’ll see something you relate to. Hot topics, therapy, trauma, how therapy affects people and everyone is becoming so much more aware of their emotions. It’s two people trying to better their experiences on earth – what more inspiring.

StoryFest is currently running until 31 August. Tickets for all the shows are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara