New Alexandra Theatre
Birmingham
Presents:
The three week UK tour of AYUB KHAN DIN’S critically acclaimed
East is East
Tuesday 13 January – Saturday 17 January 2015
STARRING THE MULTI AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS JANE HORROCKS
& CO-STARRING THE WRITER AYUB KHAN DIN
You may have seen the film, but did you know that ‘East is East’ started as a play, first created when Ayub Khan Din was 21 and wrote several sketches which he then work shopped and had premiered at the Birmingham Rep on 8th October 1996.
Gosh how time flies but the storyline is still poignant today in many areas.
It is set in 1971 in a working-class area of Salford where chip shop owner George Khan (Ayub Khan Din) lives with his English wife Ella (Jane Horrocks) and their 6 children. They do have 7 children but 1 left the clan to become a hairdresser!!
This play is full of comedy but with a dark, underlying storyline of the struggle between Pakistani Immigrant beliefs and the new era of young Muslims in Britain - can a Father really impose his decisions and beliefs on his family in a multi-cultural society?
The play shows a real community feel within Salford at this time and the set, designed by Tom Scutt is a wonderful depiction of how life was like in those days. It enabled us to believe the cramped living quarters where families had to share rooms and beds and also allowed us to see the real intimacy between neighbours and families.
The set also allowed for the scene changes to be make quickly and without lengthy pauses, with the cast carrying them out themselves and making it part of the action of the performance.
Each character has been perfectly defined within the script and they are executed well by the talented cast. Each individual has their own beliefs and ways of coping with society, religion, family and the struggle of growing up.
Sally Bankes as Auntie Annie brings some wonderful comic relief during some of the tense moments and her happy, lively performance was a joy to behold as she made the stage her own.
Sam Yates direction gives some great levels in the performance and his use of the stage brings interest and tension within the family to a tense conclusion, leaving the audience with many questions and things to think about.
The show runs at the New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham until Saturday 17th January before heading on to the Richmond Theatre - 19th - 24th January and then Opera House Manchester - 26th - 31st January
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
East is East
NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE BIRMINGHAM
Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 January 2015
Tickets on 0844 871 3011* or www.atgtickets.com/birmingham *
*Booking fees apply
Notes Regarding the Show
Ayub Khan Din’s critically acclaimed play East is East is part of Jamie Lloyd’s second Trafalgar Transformed season at Trafalgar Studios. Following a successful stint in the West End the show now embarks on a three week UK tour starting in Birmingham at the New Alexandra Theatre from Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 January 2015, before touring at Richmond Theatre and the Manchester Opera House.
East is East stars the multi award-winning stage and screen star Jane Horrocks (Young Vic’s Annie Get Your Gun, Sunshine on Leith, The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice, Absolutely Fabulous) as Ella and the award-winning playwright Ayub Khan Din himself, as her husband George.
Jamie Lloyd, Artistic Director of Trafalgar Transformed, said “Following the success of the tour of The Pride, I am excited that another production from the season, East Is East, can reach many more new audiences within the UK. It is a timely and hilarious play, and it is great that the original cast will be playing in these three venues early in 2015."
Pakistani chip-shop owner George Khan - "Genghis" to his kids - is determined to give his children a strict Muslim upbringing against the unforgiving backdrop of 1970s Salford. Household tension reaches breaking point as their long-suffering English mother, Ella, gets caught in the cross fire - her loyalties divided between her marriage and the free will of her children.
East is East, Ayub Khan Din’s semi-autobiographical account of British Asian life in the 1970s and the clash of cultures between a multi-cultural family growing up in Salford, is a play that continues to resonate and provoke discussion. The play will be directed by acclaimed director Sam Yates, in his West End directorial debut, following Richard III (starring Martin Freeman), as part of Artistic Director Jamie Lloyd’s exciting second season for Trafalgar Transformed. Design is by Tom Scutt, lighting by Richard Howell, with sound and music by Alex Baranowski.
Amit Shah (Abdul Khan), Ashley Kumar (Tariq Khan), Darren Kuppan (Maneer Khan), Nathan Clarke (Saleem Khan), Taj Atwal (Meenah Khan) and Michael Karim (Sajit Khan) complete the casting of the Khan family, and are joined by Sally Bankes (Auntie Annie), Rani Moorthy (Mrs. Shah) and Hassani Shapi (Mr Shah/Doctor) to complete the cast.
East is East, was Ayub Khan Din’s first play, following an initial career as an actor. It was staged at the Royal Court in 1997 and, subsequently, Ayub adapted the play into a hugely successful feature film, starring Om Puri and Linda Bassett. For his screenplay, Ayub won a British Independent Film Award and a London Critics’ Circle Film Award, and was nominated for two BAFTAs for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Carl Foreman Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and a European Film Award for Best Screenwriter. Ayub was last seen on stage in May 2013, when he appeared in the title role of Bunty Berman Presents, under the wing of The New Group at the Acorn Theatre, Off-Broadway.
The musical was co-authored by Ayub and Grammy and Emmy Award winner Paul Bogaev. He made his film debut in My Beautiful Laundrette, but is perhaps best known for the role of Sammy in Hanif Kureishi'sSammy and Rosie Get Laid – both directed by Stephen Frears. His TV credits include Coronation Street, London Bridge, The Chief, Dangerfield, Boon, The Bill and Poirot. Additional writing credits include Last Dance at Dum Dum, Notes on Falling Leaves, All the Way Home, Rafta Rafta, which won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and ran at the National Theatre, West is West, All in Good Time, an adaptation ofTo Sir With Love, which recently completed a national tour, and Bunty Berman Presents.
Jane Horrocks’ stage credits include Annie Get Your Gun and The Good Soul of Szechuan, both at the Young Vic, Aunt Dan and Lemon at the Royal Court, Absurd Person Singular at the Garrick Theatre and Cabaretat the Donmar Warehouse. She is renowned on stage for The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, which Jim Cartwright wrote for her after hearing her impression of artists including Shirley Bassey and Judy Garland. The production ran at the National Theatre and the Aldwych Theatre, and earned her an Olivier nomination for Best Actress. It was then adapted into a film, Little Voice, and Jane’s performance in the film resulted in nominations for a Golden Globe for Best Actress, BAFTA for Best Actress in a leading role, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a leading role and a BIFA for Best Actress. She also recorded a CD, Further Adventures of Little Voice, which included duets with Ewan McGregor, Robbie Williams and Dean Martin. On television Jane’s credits include Trollied, The Cruise, This is Jinsy, Coming Up: A Kind of Magic, Gracie, Absolutely Fabulous, Linda Green, Jericho and Never Mind the Horrocks. Her film credits include Sunshine on Leith, Corpse Bride, Chicken Run, Little Voice, Life is Sweet, Memphis Belle, The Witches, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and The Dress Maker.
Sam Yates most recently directed Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and directed Ruth Wilson in The El Train at Hoxton Hall. His other directing credits include Cornelius by J.B. Priestley at the Finborough Theatre and 59E59 Theatre, New York, and Mixed Marriage at the Finborough Theatre. He was Artistic Associate at Royal and Derngate Theatres from 2011-2013. He trained with directors Jamie Lloyd, Michael Grandage, Trevor Nunn, Josie Rourke and Phyllida Lloyd.
Trafalgar Transformed Artistic Director, Jamie Lloyd, curates another season of powerhouse plays in the reconfigured Trafalgar Studios. This is the second season of work produced by Jamie Lloyd Productions, a partnership between acclaimed director Jamie Lloyd and Ambassador Theatre Group. Richard III, starring Martin Freeman, and East is East, follow Jamie Lloyd’s dynamic first Trafalgar Transformed season, which launched with Macbeth starring James McAvoy, followed by The Hothouse, starring John Simm and Simon Russell Beale and The Pride, starring Hayley Atwell, Mathew Horne, Harry Hadden-Paton and Al Weaver.
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