The Old Fire Station in Oxford, 1 – 21 December 2025

“Watching rising star Karim Khan’s brilliant Brown Boys Swim… leaves you tingling with a jolt of electricity and floored by an unexpected emotional blow.” – WhatsOnStage

Written by Karim Khan (Brown Boys Swim: Fringe First, Popcorn Writing Award), Before the Millennium is a nostalgic festive offering that turns the edge of a new century into a moment of suspense, reflection, and unexpected discovery.

Set in the final days of 1999, the play follows Zoya and Iqra — best friends, Pakistani migrants, and Woolworths co-workers on Oxford’s Cowley Road — as they navigate the uncertainties of a new century. But when Faiza, a curious new colleague, appears with unsettling knowledge about their past, the countdown to midnight takes on new meaning. Lyrical and gently surreal with music, warmth and sharp humour, Before the Millennium is a story about friendship, migration, memory, and whether we can change our destinies.

This new production marks the Old Fire Station’s seventh original Christmas show, continuing its commitment to festive theatre that moves beyond pantomime. Instead, the company creates work for adult audiences, exploring not only the joys of the season but also its contradictions, complexities and quiet moments. The organisation shares its building with the homelessness charity Crisis, and people with lived experience of homelessness are woven throughout the venue’s community as staff, creatives and audience members.

Writer Karim Khan said:

“The Old Fire Station is where my theatre journey began as a child, so I couldn’t be more honoured and excited to be sharing my next play here. Before the Millennium means a great deal to me, not least because I get to tell my very own Christmas tale through the prism of my experience as a 90s baby, and ultimately get to honour a generation of women who migrated here during that time. I cannot wait for audiences to be transported back to a time where Woolies still existed, and Pick ‘n’ Mix was available to steal from.”

Karim Khan is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter based in Oxford. His breakout play Brown Boys Swim won both a Fringe First and the Popcorn Award at Edinburgh Fringe 2022, later transferring to Soho Theatre and touring nationally. He’s currently under commission with the Royal Court Theatre, National Theatre, and Soho Theatre, and his new play Sweetmeats opens at the Bush Theatre in 2026.

For screen, Karim has written for All Creatures Great and Small and is developing original TV and film projects. He is a graduate of the National Film and Television School and an alumnus of the Royal Court Writers Group.

Adam Karim won the Eastern Eye Best Director Award in 2025 for his JMK Award-winning production of Guards at the Taj (Orange Tree Theatre), which was also nominated for a Stage Debut Award. He has been Resident Director at the National Theatre Studio and Resident Assistant Director at the Donmar Warehouse.

Directing credits include: Julius Caesar (RADA), Macbeth (LAMDA), Guards at the Taj (Orange Tree Theatre), MANTELPEACE (Young Vic Taking Part), Platform (East15), Pressure Drop (Immediate Theatre/The Yard Theatre/schools tour), and Second Person Narrative (Rose Bruford @ Omnibus Theatre).

Associate and assistant directing credits include: Clyde’s, When Winston Went To War With The Wireless, and Trouble in Butetown (Donmar Warehouse); The P Word (Bush Theatre, Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre); and Sorry, You’re Not A Winner (Paines Plough).

Running Time: 2 hours 10 mins (inc interval) | Suitable for ages: 12+

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