Kainchee Lagaa + Jhooti: The Begging Brown Bitch Plays
By Zaiba Baig
April 1 – 18, 2026
a House of Beida and Buddies co-production
I’ve been a bitch as long as I can remember.
The Begging Brown Bitch Plays are about lying, sex, and rebirthing oneself: over and over and over again. Zaiba Baig, Peabody Award-winning co-creator of CBC/Max/Sphere Media’s Sort Of, explores deception, desire, and family fractured by displacement in these two unflinching stories of Brown trans women caught between worlds. Kainchee Lagaa and Jhooti are playing as a double bill with a short intermission between the shows.
Kainchee Lagaa
Taxali Gate, Lahore, now / Etobicoke, Ontario, now
Billo is a sex worker who spends most of her time waiting for men and eating tandoori chicken in bed. She’s saving up to run away with someone special, so tip generously. On the other side of the world, her estranged brother Arsalan is looking for something that feels like home, trying to reach back toward Billo before his survivor’s guilt swallows him whole.
Jhooti
North America, now
Sakeena leaves home for good while her sister is at work. Sakeena is a Bollywood Item Number Girl. Actually, I’m sorry, she’s not. She’s not from here though. But she’s not a liar. She’s finally arrived, and no one has ever believed her, so can you blame her for telling the truth, even when it doesn’t match the facts?
Kainchee Lagaa and Jhooti contain sexual content, violence, coarse language. Recommended for ages 16+.
This production’s trans mentorship program is supported by the National Arts Centre. Community Mentorship, Engagement, and Accsesibility for this production has been supported by The 519.
photograph of Zaiba Baig, photography + creative direction by Fran Chudnoff, styling by CC Calica, makeup by Rahnell Branton
House of Beida was created by Zaiba Baig in 2020 to support trans-led artistic projects and mentorship initiatives for trans creatives. Through House of Beida, Baig works on projects for screen and stage that champion nuance and complexity in trans narratives, as well as advocating to prioritize the needs of trans people of colour in artistic environments.
Zaiba Baig // playwright
Tawiah Ben M’Carthy // director
Praneet Akilla, Zaiba Baig, Angel Glady + Xina // performers
Rachel Forbes // set design
Ming Wong // costume design
André du Toit // lighting design
Dasha Plett // sound design
Hasheel + Lady Pista // original music
Mohua + Hasheel // vocals
Hasheel // bansuri
hassaan ashraf // additional instrumental performances + field recordings
Ellora Patnaik // acting + movement coach
nisha ahuja // intimacy director
Julia Dyan // fight director
Victoria Wang // stage manager
Bria McLaughlin // apprentice stage manager
Ronnie Ali // trans mentorship + wellbeing facilitator
kumari giles // community + access coordinator
Erum Khan // producer
Shadi Be // assistant producer
Mask Mandatory Performances
Wed, April 8 // 7:30PM + Sat, April 18 // 2PM
Audio-Described Performances
Sat, April 11 // 7:30PM + Sat, April 18 // 2PM
Audio Description will be provided by Superior Description Services, accompanied by a brief touch tour before the show to acquaint audiences with the world of the show. To reserve your receiver and headset, please book an “Audio-Description Ticket,” as we have limited amounts of headsets available. If you require assistance booking, please contact producer Aidan Morishita-Miki at 416-975-8555 x1005, or aidan@buddiesinbadtimes.com.
Talk-Backs
The show on Wednesday, April 15 will be followed by a talkback with Anu Radha Verma and the full cast of both shows.
The 2PM show on Saturday, April 18 will be followed by a talkback with Kai Cheng Thom, Zaiba Baig, and Xina.
Brown Babes & Baddies Night – South Asian Community Night
Sat, April 4 // 7:3oPM
The performance of Kainchee Lagaa & Jhooti on Saturday April 4 (7:30PM) is intended to create an affinity space and opportunity for South Asian audiences to see the show in community.
“It is my intention for this night to place South Asian audiences at the centre of this storytelling, to offer a space for the culturally-specific complexities and nuances of the plays to be felt together.” – Zaiba Baig
“South Asian” is used strategically and expansively: there is no way to adequately represent all the complexities of having identities connected to “South Asia,” which can include diasporic, Nepali, NRI, Tamil, Indo-Caribbean, Oriya-speaking, brown, Tibetan, Fijian, Maldivian, mixed-race, Pakistani, and more. We intentionally disrupt the exclusion of Black “south asian” folks, Dalit folks and others in this invitation and welcome communities who may see themselves reflected in this show’s content as it relates to their cultural context.
This definition is inspired and modelled from anu radha verma’s language from brOWN//out
KAINCHEE LAGAA + JHOOTI DIGITAL PROGRAM
Content Warning: Kainchee Lagaa and Jhooti are recommended for audiences over the age of sixteen. Both plays contain sexual themes and simulated sex acts, intense descriptions of violence, and coarse language. A more fulsome list of content warnings is available within the Content + Access Guide.
Buy Tickets
Dates + Times
Run Time
Kainchee Lagaa is 75 minutes, followed by a short intermission, after which Jhooti runs 60 minutes.
Preview
April 1 // 7:30PM
Show Run
April 2 – 18
Wed – Fri // 7:30PM
Sat // 2PM + 7:30PM
Special performances
Brown Babes & Baddies Night (South Asian Community Night): Sat, April 4 // 7:30PM
Mask Mandatory Performances: Wed, April 8// 7:30PM + Sat, April 18 // 2PM
Audio-Described Performances: Sat, April 11 //7:30PM + Sat, April 18 //2PM
Tickets
$10 / $25 / $45 / $75 + fees
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