Brown Girl Noise: The Play celebrating South Asian Womanhood

Brown Girl Noise is the play shaking up British theatre with its unapologetic celebration of South Asian womanhood.

Fierce, funny, and deeply human, it flips stereotypes on their head and puts lived experience centre stage.

The play journeys through heartbreak, sisterhood, grief, joy, and the things too often left unspoken. It is a protest and a party all at once, told through skits, stories, and spoken word that are as heartfelt as they are defiant.

After a sold-out run at The Hope Theatre and a follow-up at The Glitch, the production is now set to take over West London’s Riverside Studios, bigger and noisier than before.

At the heart of the chaos and catharsis is Kaya Uppal – writer, co-producer, and the actress behind Clash.

DESIblitz spoke to Kaya about the inspiration behind Brown Girl Noise and why its message matters now more than ever.

What was the exact turning point that inspired you to create Brown Girl Noise?

I was inspired by plays such as For Coloured Girls and For Black Boys. I actually saw the latter at the Royal Court a long way back and I fell in love with the play but it made me question why it was that a play like that didn’t exist for South Asian women.

Not only could I not name an example of a play that had a cast of four South Asian women, but I couldn’t name many examples of plays that were as nuanced and based on young South Asian women today.

So with that, I decided to write the show and had planned to just keep it to myself, but I was lucky to have creatives around me that pushed me to put the show on at Camden Fringe in 2023 and that’s where the journey began.

How did you decide skits, stories and spoken word to tell your story?

I think the choice to blend the different forms came pretty naturally.

I already had a small catalogue of spoken word poems, albeit nothing close to Homer, but I really enjoyed that form of poetry and how urgent and powerful it felt to watch/perform/see onstage.

The way it brought a community together through the audience made it a certain choice to be included.

The skits are just a part of my style as a writer.

I really enjoy comedy, especially sarcastic and self-aware humour and so it felt really important to balance the deeper and quieter moments of the play with this kind of joy and laughter. Again, some of the best forms for bringing together the audience.

And finally, the stories would always form the backbone of the play. Most, if not all, are based on events that have actually happened to me or the people I know.

When combined, they formed this rollercoaster, exciting and exhilarating to be a part of, where you feel the highest highs and lowest lows but we’re all in it together, experiencing the same thing until the very end.

Ultimately bonded by the journey we’ve been on, as the characters themselves are.

How did you choose which themes to spotlight?

Yes, it was really hard to zone in on specific experiences, because we don’t see a lot of South Asian work onstage.

I felt a big responsibility to try and cover everything, but ultimately that’s a pretty big ask as I found out.

So I wanted to hone in on specifically themes that affect South Asian women, and the ones that were close to my heart and that many of the South Asian women in my life often speak about.

In the end, I think the most important themes endured through the drafts and through the past three runs.

It’s been apparent which the audience connected with and had to be a part of the show.

What does it mean to explore sisterhood, grief and joy through the lens of South Asian womanhood?

I think to view these through a South Asian perspective, first and foremost, is to speak openly about them.

In my experience and the experiences of people close to me, it feels as though grief, especially, is something that we feel but never speak about and so to just talk openly and be vulnerable is making waves.

“I do feel we feel a lot of the joy in South Asian work, but never in tandem with these heavier topics.”

I think placing them in the context of our lives and the harder moments we live through not only gives us as actors more to play when speaking about identity, but also gives the audience 3-D characters that they can resonate with.

Sisterhood is the core of the show. In a South Asian perspective, I think sisterhood is everything.

There is often competition that we don’t shy away from in the show, but in spite of all that, to show sisterhood in a South Asian show set in the present day is something I don’t see as much of as I would want.

It’s in that perspective that I’ve felt less alone and have found the courage to explore my culture more, due to the show and the amazing cast I’ve been able to work with.

I believe it’s something that shines through this show and in the audience when they leave.

Was there a particular subject you found hardest, or most liberating, to bring to the stage?

It’s really in the scenes where, as women especially, you’re taught to carry on and not necessarily be able to process emotions or be vulnerable, that were harder.

The mental health scene in particular felt a bit like splitting your soul open onstage but it also felt very liberating.

To take a theme like that, that is so often silenced and give it a voice is exactly the kind of theatre I want to make.

I think we could just tell it would make an impact onstage and start conversations that would carry much further than the theatre.

Why do you think humour is such a powerful tool for storytelling about identity and culture?

I think humour is one of the best tools for storytelling. I think we ease up and allow ourselves to experience more when we get the opportunity to laugh.

Not only does it balance with those heavier moments in the show, but I think the power in joined laughter rallies everyone together and makes us feel seen in a joyful and uplifting way, whilst still staying grounded in these real-life topics and chapters.

“I also love endearing the characters to the audience through humour.”

The reason why they have abstract names is to make them specific but to allow the audience and any future actors playing the roles to find themselves in them, rather than playing a specific identity and humour is a huge tool in that.

How has audience feedback shaped the way you see the play now?

It’s been the most valuable thing to get direct feedback from South Asian women.

I think the fact that we’ve had sold out shows attests to how much these stories are needed and how much we’re craving diversity in the stories we’re being told.

I think the audience has also inspired us back; a lot of the feedback has been to do with resonating and finally being represented and feeling seen.

Especially when it can be hard not to get wrapped up in ego or logistics, it’s kept us grounded and reminded us why we’re doing the show and has helped us to stay on track and shape the show into being a vehicle of change and empowerment before anything else.

What role do you think theatre can play in challenging stereotypes and opening space for British South Asian voices?

Without being too pretentious, I truly do believe theatre has the power to change so much.

I don’t think there’s any medium like watching performances and actors live, with an audience, and knowing that your experience will be different to any others, even by minute details.

“For South Asian voices, I truly believe, especially in the world we are in today, that we need to be heard more than ever.”

Being given a platform at all, let alone one to speak to each other and educate without having to explain, is invaluable and in making these voices heard, you build communities and understanding.

I think we’re still a way off in terms of challenging stereotypes in theatre and across mediums, but I believe theatre is where it will happen first.

By telling our stories, or any stories at all, but allowing South Asian actors to play them as we do in moments in the show, is the way to challenge stereotypes and give South Asian voices a platform to be heard.

How do you hope Brown Girl Noise fits into the wider conversation about diversity and inclusivity in British arts and culture?

I think Brown Girl Noise gives a unique perspective to the wider conversation about diversity in culture.

I think this perspective in itself of four South Asian women is never told, and so in itself, putting four unique characters onstage, we’re filling gaps that exist within the world of British arts and culture already.

But I hope it stands on the shoulders of so many amazing creatives and pieces of work that have come before us and allowed us to tell these stories now, but it demands that even more needs to be done.

We’ve made progress but there’s a long way to go and reclaiming our own stories, which is how it should always be, and being given ownership of them is the way that we continue to grow and build towards that goal.

Brown Girl Noise is not just a theatre show; it’s a statement.

It pushes back against the limits placed on South Asian women in the arts and beyond, refusing to settle for stereotypes or silence.

Kaya Uppal, Amrita Mangat, Ayesha Sharma and Misha Domadia portray something that is as entertaining as it is necessary: a piece of theatre that resonates with laughter, pain, and unapologetic honesty.

As it takes over Riverside Studios from September 16-28, 2025, the play carries with it the voices of countless women who have been told to quiet down.

Instead, they get louder, prouder, and more powerful, and British theatre is all the better for it.