Bilal Hasna on Drag Queen Dramedy 'Layla': "Code-Switching Is Something I Could Identify With"
I haven’t experienced the fear of missing out quite like when I was too ill to attend actor Bilal Hasna’s one-man play, For A Palestinian, three years ago. The critically-acclaimed production enjoyed a sold out four-week run in both London and Bristol and followed the moving story of little-known poet and translator, Wa’el Zuaiter. I listened enviously as my friends enthused about the play and talents of its leading man.
Three years on, Bilal’s career has smoothly sailed from stage to screen. The 25-year-old boasts roles in Disney+’s superhero-comedy Extraordinary and Paramount+’s upcoming series The Agency, where he shares the screen with the likes of Michael Fassbender and Richard Gere. “I feel very lucky to not be defined by any one role or project, and I feel very passionately about that, especially as a person of colour,” he tells me over Zoom from his London home.
As I speak to Bilal (who was sweetly surprised when I told him I knew of his first play), we’re days away from the release of Layla, which is in cinemas now and follows the life a non-binary, British-Palestinian drag queen. The film, directed by British-Iraqi writer and drag performer Amrou Al-Khadi, follows the titular character as an unexpected romance forces them to confront their identity. “The character of Layla is really complex. They’re Muslim, Palestinian, queer, non-binary, a drag queen. The ways in which they code switch is something I could identify with,” Bilal shared.
The actor, who grew up in North London and is of Palestinian heritage, mused over the many years of his life spent lip-syncing and dressing up in his bedroom, which attracted him to the role, as did collaborating with Al-Khadi. “The Layla that was on the page was quite different to me,” he said. “There was a version of the script that portrayed them as a victim of circumstance and oppression, but as we worked through it together, we wanted to try and tell a story which felt more nuanced.”
We follow Layla as they begin a relationship with marketing executive Max, played by Masters of the Air’s Louis Greatorex, which causes them to confront the life they left behind and what they want for their future. “In many ways, [Layla] is trying to make themselves legible to Max as it makes sense to have that ‘queer trauma’ arch as an Arab and Muslim. It became more nuanced when we came to filming, Layla felt more three-dimensional and not like a victim of a white person who didn’t understand them,” Bilal reflected.
The film, set against the backdrop of London’s dwindling queer venues, sees Bilal transform into a number of striking drag looks, which also serve to tell a story of the character’s progression. “Layla is really trying to find their own drag identity throughout the film – in the opening scene, they’re in stereotypical and almost white drag, but by the end of the film, they’ve harnessed all the aspects of their identity and are wearing a Palestinian designer which is a take on female, Islamic dress. By the end, the costumes reflect Layla embracing themselves and what the world might tell them is contradictory, but is the facet of their very being.”
As a British-Palestinian and champion of Artists For Ceasefire and Film Workers for Palestine, he is determined that the conversation around queerness isn't misrepresented or co-opted. "All too often, dominant narratives tell you that being queer and Arab or Muslim are mutually exclusive categories and you can’t be both because your family will hate you or queer people will hate you. Often, these narratives are used to subjugate and oppress us,” he continues. "What the film shows is that we are the agents of our own stories, and when we are given the chance to speak, the world can learn a lot from what we say.”
As one of BIFA’s Breakthrough Performers of this year, Bilal’s career portfolio is only set to only grow with the coming months seeing him feature in Netflix’s Black Mirror, The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim and director Gurinder Chadha’s Christmas Karma. But, aside from starring roles and accolades, what is the story that Bilal wants to tell as a performer? “I’m very proud as a Palestinian actor to be given these platforms to do interviews like these and promote films like Layla. As long as I have it, I will always use my platform as a voice for justice, peace, dignity and freedom.”
Layla is in cinemas now.
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