‘Got a light?’ says a man at the bus stop to another walking by. The two could not be more different: the smoker is brash, street-smart, a Sydney ‘local’; the other is well-spoken, intelligent, and from Pakistan.

Norm and Ahmed is a play written by Alex Buzo, and is a one-act dialogue between two people at a Sydney bus stop at midnight, some time in the late 1960s. The conversation is driven by Norm, questioning Ahmed as to what he’s doing in Australia, showing interest in his studies and his future, all the time assuring him that he’ll be made to feel welcome in this foreign land – providing he plays by the rules, which Norm is more than happy to explain to him. Ahmed is mostly passive – responding to Norm’s question, offering up opinions when he’s asked for them, then having to apologise for them when Norm reacts badly.