Barry boy and RWCMD alum Zak Ghazi-Torbati draws on personal experiences for new show The Other Half. He chats to John Evans about how the show was created through winning a competition and the importance of sharing rich stories from Wales.

Can you tell me a bit about your backstory?

I grew up in Barry and from there, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I originally wanted to be a drummer – I was part of a band and we did some tours around Wales at like 17, it was very cringeworthy! But then I applied to go to sing at the Royal Welsh College – I don’t want to say it as a joke, but I never thought I would get in. So I applied to Cambridge and managed to get in there too. And that was where I found my people and got into writing and theatre.

The opportunities I had were amazing: I went around America with the Footlights, over to Japan, some of the most amazing things. And it was [Cambridge] where I met my writing partners Kate [Reid], Toby [Marlow] and Lucy [Moss], and whilst they were writing Six, we were writing about this show called Hot Gay Time Machine. We took that to the Fringe in my third year.

And how did your new show The Other Half come into fruition? I gather it was part of a competition…

When I graduated, we were offered a run in [London’s] Trafalgar Studios with Hot Gay Time Machine for six weeks over Christmas – amazing, but I had no chance of affording to move to London. Kate and her family let me move in with them, which is where the idea for the show sort of came from – it was supposed to just be for six weeks, but I loved them so much, they became my sort of surrogate parents and I stayed for about a year and a half!

Whilst I was there with Kate, we thought we should probably start trying to create our own work, and wrote this spec script – The Other Half, which was about a young Welsh-Iranian gay man. Kate was applying it into competitions, then we got a call saying we’d been shortlisted for this amazing competition, the Triforce Writerslam, which had partnered up with UKTV and Dave.

The idea was to give diverse and underrepresented writers, producers and talent the opportunity to create a single episode. If we got into the final four, our pilot would be made. It was insane luck and chance that we got this opportunity.

And the show’s based on your real-life experiences?

Yeah – I mean, I’ve taken liberties, like I didn’t grow up with my father. The mother figure is real, but when we first wrote it, it was this half-Iranian boy with his Welsh mother. We just thought it was more interesting [with a dad], because I’ve never really seen a positive relationship between a Middle Eastern father and their gay son – and fundamentally, the whole story is about this really healthy, loving relationship where this father is totally accepting of his son.

I just wanted to see things that we’ve never seen before. It’s very cheesy to say, but I write for my 13-year-old self – what I think I would find funny, or what would have been important for me as a closeted gay kid. The culture has changed, and everything is different now, but I still think those are important stories to tell.

What can people expect from the show?

The fundamental theme of The Other Half is belonging – about feeling like you don’t belong with the Iranian side, you don’t belong in this straight culture, with this rich family and so on. And then it’s nice to share those kinds of stories, and characters people might not have seen before.

I showed my family early: that was joyous, to see them identify with this very niche culture in Wales. But the thing I’m proudest about it is that it truly captures that kind of Welsh-Iranian side. The father figure is played by Paul Chahidi, who’s in This Country – he is just unbelievable, like one of the best actors I’ve ever seen.

What was it like filming the show and being on set?

It was filmed during COVID, and we were a little worried that it wouldn’t happen, but the production company Ranga Bee were just brilliant. They treated us incredibly professionally, but also saw how big of an opportunity it was for us. Every opportunity for us to be there or learn something, they made that possible. We were there for the whole filming period.

Kate was actually in it – she played a very minor part at the end. I enjoyed those days the most when she was on set and I got to be like “no actually, I don’t think you’re doing it right!”

But it was really fun. I’m an actor as well, but I was learning how to act from the other actors. It was just a masterclass of watching people who are professionals.

We kept getting told throughout the week of filming that it’s never like this, never this nice or comfortable; some people from makeup said to me this was one of the most fun shoots they’d ever done. So it felt immediately from the first day that it was a sort of family vibe. Stuff was having to get cut because we were running out of time – which is quite stressful as a writer because you’re so protective of the script. But it’s all just a learning thing.

How important is the representation and portrayal of Iranian, Welsh and LGBT people in the show?

It’s the most important thing to me as a writer – I don’t think I would ever write anything that wasn’t about that. Even if I were to write a story that wasn’t about an Iranian, it would be somewhere within the script or that certain characters have to be played by Middle Eastern actors, or LGBT actors for example.

I think that there are two ways of diversity: sharing the stories of Iranians, or Welsh people, which I feel very passionate about, and also ensuring, as a writer, you influence its casting as well. With Wales especially, it pisses Kate off because she’s from London, and I just refuse to set anything there. We’ve gone through comedies, dramas all set in Wales. It’s God’s garden!

There is so much filming here in Wales at the moment, some of the biggest series – but none of them are about Wales. It annoys me slightly because there are so many rich stories to come out of Wales.

Plans for the future, in terms of the show and other endeavours?

I’m hoping the show will open new doors. Kate and I have quite a few projects lined up – different things, mostly set in Wales about Iranians! I’d love to do some more acting stuff too. And be in the things that I write. 

The Other Half airs over one week on Dave from Tue 23 Aug and will also be available on UKTV Play.

words JOHN EVANS