Review: EAST IS EAST, Octagon Theatre
Photo credit: Pamela Raith
As a celebration of the original production’s 30th anniversary, a new production of East is East comes to Bolton as a collaboration between the Octagon Theatre, Citizens Theatre and Wiltshire Creative, in association with Derby Theatre. The original play by Ayub Khan Din, which opened in Birmingham in 1996, was famously adapted into the 1999 film of the same name, but now the stage version is making a comeback in this new production directed by Kash Arshad. As a story set in Salford, what better place to open this new production than right here in the North West.
East is East follows a mixed ethnicity family living in Salford in the early 70s, headed by Pakistani father George (Bhasker Patel) and English mother Ella (Samantha Power). The pair have seven children together, of which only six physically appear onstage, and as their father becomes more obsessed with the events of the Bangladesh Liberation war and arranging marriages for two of his sons, their children try to reject the Pakistani part of their identity having been brought up in England. Other characters from outside the Khan household are Ella’s confidant Auntie Annie (Victoria Brazier), and the doctor and father of the prospective bride-to-be, Mr Shah (Sushil Chudasama).
Olivia Barr and Gabriella Shimeld-Fenn, alongside director Kash Arshad, have done an excellent job of casting, especially when it comes to the children of the Khan family. Playing the roles of Abdul, Tariq, Maneer, Saleem, Meenah, and Sajit are Danyal Ismail, Zaki Ali, Joeravar Sangha, Matthew Khan, Maya Dhokia, and Rohan Macleod. Each of these actors feel extremely well suited to the personalities of their characters, but also have a strong chemistry with one another and create a believable love-hate relationship that only siblings can have. The entire cast have perfectly captured the comedic nuances of the script and their characters.
The combination of Khan Din’s book, Arshad’s direction, and the cast’s performances give the feel of a classic 70s sitcom where the next laugh is only seconds away, although there are some moments when the pacing of the play loses momentum and seems to disrupt the flow of the story, with the end of Act 1 in particular feeling a little sudden. Understandably, other moments when the storyline briefly halts are the set changes as it sometimes feels slightly too long waiting in the dark.
That being said, the set design by Rachana Jadhav is actually very clever and creative in the way that the kitchen cupboards fold out to become the family’s chip shop, the open plan view between the indoor and outdoor settings as well as the fold out archway create the illusions of separate spaces, whilst also keeping the playing space quite open for audiences to see the whole space without full wall structures closing off some areas. Jadhav is also the costume designer for the production, and both the costume and set have a very clear warm 70s vibe about them, giving a strong impression of the time period and showcasing the various personalities of each character through their clothing.
East is East both celebrates and shows the challenges of the merging of two differing cultures and discovery of how that affects a family. A lot of the language and attitudes in the story reflect its time period, so also shows modern audiences how attitudes have changed over time. But above all, East is East is a hilarious and heartfelt production and is a joy to watch.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Jess Dalloway
East is East plays at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre until 3 Oct, with further info here.