Community Spotlight / Ever Been Called A “Coconut”? See How Award-Winning Canadian Play ‘bol, brown boy, bol’ Addresses This

Ever Been Called A “Coconut”? See How Award-Winning Canadian Play ‘bol, brown boy, bol’ Addresses This

Community Spotlight Jul 10, 2026

by Mehak Kapoor | Entertainment Editor

What does being called a coconut really mean? Discover the identity journey behind award-winning Canadian play bol, brown boy, bol.

Rooted in playwright-performer Nawaaz Makhani’s lived experience as a South Asian Canadian man, bol, brown boy, bol extends a warm, disarming invitation to its audience while still engaging with layered and complex themes. Rather than presenting itself as a conventional stage production, this touring version unfolds as an immersive experience centred on connection, culture, and ongoing healing.

I attended bol, brown boy, bol, presented by CQC Arts in association with Blemme Fatale Productions, ran May 20-24, 2026, at Native Earth Performing Arts’ Aki Studio, and what stayed with me was how unapologetically it refused to flatten the messiness of identity into anything neat or consumable. Directed by Tiffany Wu, the production arrives already carrying its own recognition, having previously received the North (519) Best of Toronto Fringe Award in 2024, but on stage, it feels less like an acclaimed piece and more like a lived confession unfolding in real time.

A Story That Refuses Easy Answers

The work opens in an intimate, almost disarming register, where Makhani’s world is shaped through pop-cultural devotions, family memory, and inherited affection. References to Salman Khan, Jay-Z, his grandmother Guli Maa, and his sister Leila, a Kathak dancer, don’t function as ornamentation but as emotional coordinates, mapping the fragmented yet deeply felt terrain of his upbringing. From the beginning, humour and vulnerability sit side by side, never competing, always entangled.

The Weight Of Being A “Coconut”

At its heart, the piece traces a restless search for voice, as Makhani turns to the tabla as both instrument and anchor. What begins as a cultural return becomes something more complicated: a negotiation with faith, masculinity, and the internalised pressures of being seen as not enough in multiple worlds at once. The idea of being a coconut, of being split between inherited culture and external expectation, is not treated as a metaphor alone but as a lived tension that has shaped his entire sense of self.

What deepens the work is its attention to lived racism and its long emotional echo. Growing up in Richmond Hill, Nawaaz recalls being reduced to stereotypes, mocked through racial slurs that blur national identities into a single insult. Those early fractures carry forward into adolescence and university, where assimilation becomes a performance: adopting borrowed aesthetics, distancing from family, and trying to script a version of masculinity that feels socially legible but internally hollow.

Finding Home Through Tabla

And yet the performance never settles into despair. The tabla emerges as a meditative counterweight, a grounding force that resists erasure. In moments where rhythm takes over, the stage shifts into something almost ritualistic, and even my own body found itself responding instinctively, imagining Kathak footwork slipping into the sound. It is in these moments that the piece opens outward, suggesting that cultural memory is not just recalled but physically reactivated.

By the end of the performance, there is no clear resolution, just a sense of ongoing movement. Identity feels unfinished, always shifting through sound, memory, and self-reflection. What remains is an impression rather than an ending, as though we’ve witnessed someone quietly rebuilding their sense of self in real time on stage.

Further reflections on the performance experience and its emotional resonance will follow, alongside an interview with Nawaaz Makhani.

Exclusive Chat With Nawaaz Makhani

Ever Been Called A "Coconut"? Inside The Award-Winning Canadian Play bol, brown boy, bol — Ever Been Called A “Coconut”? Inside The Award-Winning Canadian Play *bol, brown boy, bol* | Photo Credit: Mehak Kapoor

Mehak Kapoor: After watching the show, what stayed with me most was the theme of identity. Was revisiting these parts of yourself emotionally difficult?

Nawaaz Makhani: I wouldn’t say emotionally difficult, but definitely emotionally raw. Writing the script was very cathartic, and the creative process of bringing this show to life has been a powerful healing journey for me. It gave me the chance to reflect on key formative moments in my life, those experiences of grief and sadness, but also joy, as I worked on representing these parts of myself with a new perspective.

The show feels deeply personal and rooted in lived experience, especially in the moments where you speak about your grandmother, Guli Maa. Was bol, brown boy, bol a way of reclaiming parts of yourself that survival once forced you to silence?

Bol, Brown Boy, Bol has been many things for me, one of which is definitely a process of reclaiming the parts of myself and my culture that I silenced for many years, decades, in fact. I don’t think I’ll ever be a fluently speaking Gujarati-Canadian, but this story was about finding balance in my hybrid identity. When you are the child of immigrants in Canada, you are living in multiple worlds within one skin, and that can be difficult over a lifetime. This story helped me reclaim my identity with a roar and with pride, and I hope it inspires others to be proud of their identities as well.

My Guli Maa is such a big part of how I connected with my culture, and including her in the story was also a way to honour the legacy of her generation and the ancestors who came before me. It was important for me to share the history of “where I’m from” through the people who feature in the play.

Why was it important for you to bring themes like internalised racism and belonging into this story so directly?

I’ll never forget Donovan Bailey saying that racism in Canada is “racism with a smile.” To be really honest, I don’t think we speak directly enough about racism and its impact in Canada. I’ve had many friendships deteriorate or end because of the topic of race. I so desperately wanted to create a space where all Canadians from all backgrounds have a space to learn, share, and speak about race. It’s time we move these conversations forward, heal, and become more understanding of each other, isn’t it?

Your story reflects a very specific millennial South Asian experience of both belonging and alienation. Do you feel that tension is still quietly shaping younger generations today?

I think it is, only because young South Asians in their teens and twenties come up to me after shows to tell me that the story made them feel seen and that it resonated with them. It’s clear that fitting in and being proud of our identities is a constant struggle that many South Asians of all ages face in Canada.

In a world where emotions are often misunderstood or dismissed, what would you want to say to young people about embracing their emotional truth?

I think it’s vital, and it’s what is going to help the coming generations survive. The more we understand and embrace our emotional worlds, the more we are able to shape our destinies individually and collectively.

Before putting something this personal on stage, what fears or doubts came up for you?

This is my first piece of theatre, and in fact, it came from a short story and a style of storytelling that I was experimenting with using tabla. Putting something on stage at all was not something I had really considered until I started writing this story. So I had doubts as a first-time writer and performer. In the end, the deeply personal nature of the work was a major driver and motivation; I needed to tell my story and to feel seen, in the hope that I could share that space with others as well.

What made Tiffany Wu the right collaborator to help shape and hold this deeply layered story?

Tiffany is an amazing advocate for this story and a wonderful collaborator to work with. She has a very unique eye for identifying gaps that need to be filled, and she is excellent at bringing a team together. She calls on her creative network, cold calls, knocks on doors, and does whatever she can to fulfil the vision.

She brought together a highly technically challenging production with over 100 lighting and sound cues, with evocative lighting design by Lindsay Murray and moving soundscapes by Christine Wu. Tiffany led the creative team for both the initial play at Toronto Fringe 2024 and for this 2026 tour. Without Tiffany, there would have been no production elements at all.

I also want to shout out the two other members of my core team, Lamesha Ruddock (tour producer) and Robin McNaughton (producer). None of this would have been possible without these two and Tiffany.

Learning tabla requires discipline, patience, and surrender to the process. How did that journey mirror your own emotional or personal growth?

I think the process of learning tabla reminded me that nothing comes easy in this world, and to be patient for what is meant to come my way. The last decade that I’ve been learning tabla has also been the most transformational time for me as a human, and I think tabla was central to that journey.

For example, it is very easy for my internal critic to say negative things to myself when I cannot play a composition as well as I want, but then Guruji would tell me not to put so much pressure on myself and to enjoy the process. This continual process with Guruji and learning tabla helped me develop a lot more love for myself.

You’ve spoken about your time learning in Kolkata under your Guruji. How did that experience reshape your relationship with your roots?

It was pretty wild, a trial by fire, I would say. I literally cried in my aeroplane seat when I landed in Kolkata and dove into the culture headfirst. People knew instantly that I was not a local, yet I looked like everyone around me. It helped me find some internal balance and peace, and it made me want to continue making the journey to India.

Your Guruji clearly holds a meaningful place in your journey. After everything this work has become, what is something you would want to say to him now?

“Thank you, Guruji, and this is just the beginning.” I would say this with pride and love. I owe so much to Guruji; he has been the best teacher and role model for me over many years. What people may not know is that part of the Guru-Shishya Parampara tradition is the sharing of knowledge, and to be able to do this with a Canadian audience is so special. I would hope there are many more opportunities to share the uniqueness of the tabla with those who are unfamiliar with it.

What has surprised you most about the way audiences have responded to the show so far?

I would say it is the way people shared that they felt seen and represented in a way they haven’t experienced before. That, for me, was extremely powerful and humbling. It is also a reminder that Canadians need more stories like these, and more spaces for connecting and healing.

Winning the North (519) Best of Toronto Fringe Award is a huge moment. What did that recognition mean to you personally and for the story you were telling?

Honestly, it was totally unexpected, and it helped my team and me realise that what we were doing was bigger than us, and that we had to continue. Our audiences told us that after every show, and winning the juried award, launched us into a new realm of possibilities.

Looking ahead, what kind of stories or projects are you drawn to next? Are there new creative directions you’re excited to explore?

I love the idea of expanding the bol universe through different mediums: TV, film, short stories, live performance. There is a lot of richness there and possibility. I am also looking forward to deepening my learning and practice with tabla, writing, performing, and water marbling.

When audiences leave bol, brown boy, bol, what is the one feeling or conversation you hope they carry with them?

That we’re all more connected than we realise…

Thank you, Nawaaz, for speaking with me. I loved the play and am looking forward to seeing more creativity from you and the team.

Thank you, Mehak and ANOKHI, for your support!

Full Show Credits:

Creator & Performer: Nawaaz Makhani
Creative director: Tiffany Wu
Producer: Robin McNaughton
Tour producer: Lamesha Ruddock
Dramaturg & Acting coach: Jimmy Hogg
Dramaturg: Sashoya Simpson
Sound designer: Christine Wu
Music Supervisor/Guruji: Chiranjit Mukherjee
Publicist: Damien Nelson

https://bolbrownboybol.ca/

Mehak Kapoor | Entertainment Editor

Author

Mehak Kapoor (@makeba_93) is an entertainment and lifestyle journalist with over a decade of experience in anchoring and content creation for TV and digital platforms. Passionate about storytelling and factual reporting, she enjoys engaging with diverse audiences. Outside of work, she finds solace i...

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