East is East at Birmingham Repertory Theatre
First performed in the Rep’s studio in 1996, Ayub Khan-Din’s abrasive comedy has taken 13 years to complete the short journey to the main stage.
In between, of course, it has become a famous benchmark in the evolution of British Asian culture, mainly thanks to the highly successful film version made with the original cast.
Set in 1971, it is based on Khan-Din’s own experience of growing up in a large mixed-race family, the son of a Pakistani father and English mother, in Salford. Though by no means the first British play to explore issues of cultural identity and conflict, it immediately stood out for the remarkable self-confidence of the writing.
At the same time, I’m surprised, with hindsight, that when I first saw it I missed the obvious debt it owes to the other famous Salford comedy, Hobson’s Choice, which is also about a shopkeeper and domineering father struggling to maintain his authority under pressure from rebellious children.
The play pre-dates 9/11 by five years, so that the issues of religious identity it touches on did not have the tension around them which they would come to have later. The political context here is the East-West Pakistan war, resulting in the creation of Bangladesh, which George Khan anxiously follows on television during the play.
In his increasingly desperate attempts to raise his children according to his beliefs, George crosses a line into shocking brutality. The fact that Kahn-Din does not flinch from this throws the engaging energy of George’s westernised children into relief and gives the play its edge.
In this revival, directed by Iqbal Khan, the play lives up to its status as a modern classic. There is an attractive fluidity in the staging, with furniture (and even a canal bridge at one stage) swept on and off to create various scenes, and some terrific performances – especially from Archie Lal as the tragicomic George and, above all, Belinda Lang as his long-suffering but unbowed wife, Ella.
* Running time: Two hours, 20 minutes. Until October 17.
Rating: 4/5.
