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Lights Up

Adam

Duration: 58 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Scotland HDLatest broadcast: on BBC Four

Inspired by the life of Adam Kashmiry, Adam tells the remarkable story of a young trans man and his struggle across genders and borders to be himself. Originally a multi-award-winning stage play, Adam has been reinvented as a compelling, theatrical on-screen drama.

Born in Egypt, Adam was assigned female at birth but always knew he was a boy. Trapped in a deeply conservative society where falling in love with the wrong person can get you killed, he knew that he had to escape. With a borrowed laptop he typed in a question: ‘Can the soul of a man be trapped in the body of a woman?’ What followed was a catalyst to begin the epic journey for the right to change his body. To the boy he knew himself to be.

Written by playwright and dramaturg Frances Poet, and reworked for the screen, this hour-long drama focuses on Adam’s isolating experiences in a Glasgow flat while awaiting a decision on his asylum claim. Trapped in a Catch-22 where he cannot prove his need for asylum as a trans man until he transitions but is unable to start transitioning until he is granted asylum, Adam is left alone to wrestle with his conflicting thoughts and feelings as every waking moment sees him haunted by figures from both his past and his present. Show less

Contributors

Mental Health Nurse:
Stephen McCole
Home Office Representative:
Neshla Caplan
Malak:
Haqi Ali
Egyptian Adam:
Yasmin Al-Khudhairi
Manager and Stranger:
Hamish Wyllie
Director:
Cora Bissett
Production Company:
Adam On Screen Ltd
Production Company:
Hopscotch Films
Production Company:
National Theatre of Scotland

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