DESI DIARY
BROWN BOY FINDS HIS VOICE
Bol, Brown Boy, Bol is a cheeky, heartfelt solo show about playwright Nawaaz Makhani’s journey of reclaiming his voice and cultural inheritance through learning tabla.
CQC Arts production, in association with Blemme Fatale Productions, presents the award-winning play Bol, Brown Boy, Bol (Speak, Brown Boy, Speak) created by playwright Nawaaz Makhani.
Recipient of the Inspirit Foundation’s inaugural New Narratives Fund in 2025, Bol, Brown Boy, Bol is a cheeky, heartfelt solo show about Nawaaz’s journey of reclaiming his voice and cultural inheritance through learning tabla, a northern Indian percussion instrument. Twenty years of being a “coconut” has caught up to Nawaaz, who’s crashed into a dual crisis of identity and faith. Divine intervention sends him a musical guru, who guides him on a journey towards self-acceptance and love.
Directed by Tiffany Wu, Bol, Brown Boy, Bol offers a rich musical landscape merging Indian classical music with 90s Bollywood nostalgia, grunge, rap, and hip hop. Weaving storytelling with the rhythms of tabla, creator and performer Nawaaz speaks up about the impact of Canadian racism on his identity and shares his story of finding his way back to himself.
“A lot of people think we are stuck living in a divided world, but I disagree, I think there’s more that connects us than we realize, and this story is one way to share that,” said Makhani. “I’m hoping people leave this show with an expanded notion of what it means to grow up Canadian. I hope they feel seen, have had some laughs, and meet new people over a good cup of chai!”
Bol, Brown Boy, Bol premiered at the 2024 Toronto Fringe Festival, winning the North (519): Best of Toronto Fringe Award. Since then the show has been further developed to expand the story and ideas.
Makhani is an educator, activist, and interdisciplinary artiste. He has been exploring different art forms (writing, water marbling and tabla) to better understand himself and his place in the world around him. Nawaaz’s work and collaborations often meet at the intersection of mental health, consent education, unwrapping toxic masculinity and healing generational trauma.
CQC Arts is a BIPOC-owned small business where everything is designed in Ontario. It is an arts hub seeking to grow with the support of cherished community members who believe in a similar vision.
When and where:
March 26-27 at Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe in Ottawa.
April 17-18 at the Grand Theatre in London.
May 20-24 at Native Earth's Aki Studio in Toronto.
Tickets: $15-40 on sale now.