EAST IS EAST till 17 October.
EAST IS EAST: Ayub Khan-Din
Birmingham Rep, till 17 October
www.birmingham-rep.co.uk: tel 0121 246 4455
Runs: 2h 15m, one interval.
Review: Rod Dungate, 29 September 2009
Has the play grown richer or have we grown up?
I don’t know whether EAST IS EAST has grown up or whether we have; but 15 years years after first seeing it, the play seems much more serious than it did before. The issues of the circumcision of young Sajit and the arranged weddings to two highly undesirable sisters had been drivers of a feel-good comedy, now they seem emblematic of the collision of two, seemingly irreconcilable, cultures.
The date is 1971. George Khan has lived in Britain since 1930; now he’s married to a second wife, Ella (white Northern English). They have children and George runs a fish and chip show in predominantly white Salford. But the family seems to be falling apart; George tries desperately to enforce his (better, as he sees it) Muslim values and customs while his children, for the most part, battle against them. His wife, Ella, sits outside this argument though inevitably drawn into it. She protecting her children; she’s beaten up by George for her efforts. Doesn’t really sound the stuff of feel-good comedy does it?
That’s the point, really. Since the play’s birth at The Door in 1996 we’ve become more aware of diversity and the difficulties inherent in holding our society together, we’re aware of the results of fundamentalist Islamic extremism, we see the horror that can stem from a society which can’t resolve difference.
So the play now raises serious issues to us. Yet Khan-Din’s ability to self mock is sure; how apt and telling is a line like: ‘I’d give anything for a foreskin.’ Just as apposite (but less funny) is Ella’s friend, Annie: ‘You’re in the middle, Ella - you’ve got to keep your head down.’
The acting team performs with great energy and commitment; as they settle in, a little more light and shade would be welcome. Iqbal Khan has directed with a fine sense of the play’s meaning; but he should encourage less out front acting and greater communication between the actors. There are some fine moving moments in the play, but relationships are all in this story and they have a bit further to go.
And in answer to Annie - no, none of us must keep our heads down.
George Khan: Archie Lal.
Ella Khan: Belinda Lang.
Abdul Khan: Chris Nayak.
Tariq Khan: Darren Kuppan.
Maneer Khan: Tom Reed.
Saleem Khan: Jondeep More.
Meenah Khan: Anjli Mohindra.
Sagit Khan: James McGlynn.
Auntie Annie: Sue Wallace.
Doctor ? Mr Shah: Simon Nagra.
Director: Iqbal Khan.
Designer: Simon Higlett.
Lighting Designer: Tim Mitchell.
Sound designer: Dan Hoole.
Fight Director: Kevin McGurdy.
Casting: Sooki McShane, Alison Solomon.
Dialect Coaches: Sally Hague, Majella Hurley.
2009-09-30 16:20:01