The Diary of a Hounslow Girl

An Audible Original

Preview

Failed to add items

Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.

Add to basket failed.

Please try again later

Add to wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Remove from wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Adding to library failed

Please try again

Follow podcast failed

Unfollow podcast failed

£0.00 for the first 30 days

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Get 3 months for £0.99/mo

Get this deal

Try Premium Plus free

Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.

Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.

1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.

Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.

Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Diary of a Hounslow Girl

By: Ambreen Razia

Narrated by: Ambreen Razia

Get this deal

Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £4.99

Limited time offer. £0.99/mo for the first 3 months + £10 Audible voucher, and £8.99/month thereafter. Terms apply. Get this deal.

About this listen

In a deeply moving and warm performance, Ambreen Razia delivers her bold and provocative one-woman play that confronts—and dismantles—stereotypes surrounding Muslim women.

Growing up in downscale urban London wearing hoop earrings and a hijab, Shaheeda, the British Muslim teen at the center of The Diary of a Hounslow Girl, balances the expectations of her family and the temptations of city life. Between the joys of traditional Pakistani weddings and fights on the night bus, this comic and raw coming-of-age story highlights her struggle with deep-rooted Pakistani values, and the modern aspirations—and frustrations—of youth.

Note: Portions of this audio drama contain mature language and themes. Listener discretion is advised

Audio Performances & Dramatisations

Dramatisations

Entertainment & Performing Arts

Islamic Heritage

Funny

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cover art

The Return of the Elves Series, Volumes 1-4 cover art

About the Author and Performer

Ambreen Razia is an actress and writer from South London. Her critically acclaimed debut play, The Diary of a Hounslow Girl, toured nationally with Black Theatre Live and House Theatre, was featured at Alchemy Festival, Southbank and has been commissioned as a TV pilot, Hounslow Diaries, for BBC Three. Razia won Best Newcomer at the Asian Media Awards in 2016 and Eastern Eye’s Emerging Artist Award in 2017. Additional acting credits include: On the Middle Day; Words and Women; Mind the Gap; No Guts, No Heart, No Glory; Random Acts; Murdered by My Father; Finding Fatimah; Ladies Day; Ilford Lane; Killed by My Debt; and The Harry Hill Sitcom. Ambreen has performed and worked in women’s prisons across the UK and continues to facilitate workshops with young women, undertaking and discussing issues such as radicalization, body image, domestic violence, girls in gangs, and consent.

Photo by Shaheen Razaqq

Critic reviews

"Ambreen Razia’s performance is astonishing and engaging. For any actor to hold an audience interested for over an hour is an achievement in itself. The fact that she manages to inject the performance with humour, and the fervour of youth, says a lot about her understanding of her subject, of the quality of the writing and of the talent of Razia herself. Shaheeda is no stereotype. She’s complex, and ultimately young!" (British Theatre ★★★★★)

"Much of this play is very funny, not least because the problems on show are not confined to Muslims, or indeed to any one group. Stress between generations is on of the many elements in human existence with which we all have to learn to deal. Young as she is, Shaheeda is maturing as we watch her. This really is an evening in the theatre that people should not miss." (Plays to See ★★★★★)

"Ambreen Razia proves to be as talented a writer as she is a performer. The play follows 16-year-old Shaheeda as she struggles to align her Pakistani heritage with the realities of life as a London teenager. This is a sophisticated, moving and often very funny piece of writing, particularly nuanced in its depiction of Shaheeda's relationship with her mother." (The Stage ★★★★)

Go Behind the Scenes of The Diary of a Hounslow Girl

0:00

Most relevant

Loved the snapshot of the world and all the pressures revealed from this young woman’s point of view. Excellent performance.