Ayub Khan Din's East is East: British Asian theatre is here to stay

by Dominic Rai, Artistic Director, Mán Melá Theatre Company, based at the Albany, Deptford.

I first saw East is East at its original read-through at the Albany Studio Theatre in Deptford in 1986 -fourteen years ago!

I first saw East is East at its original read-through at the Albany Studio Theatre in Deptford in 1986 -fourteen years ago!

Ayub Khan Din wrote the play out of strong personal experience while at drama school. His mother was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and - as her memory declined - he felt whole sections of his life were starting to disappear. The neighbourhood in which he grew up was also being demolished and he hoped to capture the spirits of both the area and its people. As an actor he also wanted to create a good part for himself - he felt stereotyped by the roles on offer!

In 1986 nobody was interested. Asian theatre companies were looking for bigger, more epic works and the time wasn't right for a family drama. It was deemed too introspective and Goodness Gracious Me and the explosion of the British Asian comedy scene were all yet to happen! The first production was at the Birmingham Rep Studio in autumn 1996 in a three-way collaboration involving the Tamasha Theatre Company, the Rep and the Royal Court. I had the privilege of seeing this production. The play then went to the Royal Court in London, where by a happy chance productions were being held in the West End - so it had good coverage by the London critics. After going to Theatre Royal, Stratford East, it came back to the main house at the Royal Court, where it attracted even wider audiences.

Today, the play has become a phenomenon in the tradition of Look Back in Anger, which also performed at the Royal Court, and was a major turning point in British theatre. Both are family dramas in the kitchen sink tradition.

East is East is the voice of today's multi-cultural Britain and is just as significant. Although set in 1971, the play has a strong contemporary feel and deals with today's issues of identity, cultural clashes and generational problems. For the first time, we could see a realistic British Asian family on the stage especially in the portrayals of the parents.

In 1996, the play won the Arts Council of England John Whiting Award, and in 1997 the Writers' Guild Award for Best West End Play and the New Writer of the Year Award. Productions on Broadway and in Berlin followed. The film has been the most successful independent British movie ever, outgrossing The Full Monty.

We are now at the beginning of the fourth decade of continuous British Asian theatre and writing. (Tara Arts started in 1976). In 2000, we have Tanika Gupta as writer-in-residence at the Royal National Theatre. She has just won the John Whiting Award for her play The Waiting Room. Shan Khan has picked up the Verity Bargate Award for his first play Office. Manoj Raithatha won a Edinburgh Fringe first prize with his play BBA and Proud. This past autumn witnessed numerous productions across the country by British Asian theatre companies. Andrew Lloyd Webber is producing Bombay Dreams, a new musical with an Indian composer Rahman to be scripted by Meera Syal. London's Royal Opera House, meanwhile, has staged a Bollywood version of Puccini's Turandot involving Asian students at a Southall high school. In summer 2001 Ray Grewal has won the Meyer Whitworth Award for his first play, My Dad's Corner Shop.

East is East is a signal that British Asian writing is making waves all over the world. There is much more to come!

Originally written as Programme Notes for East is East performed at Dulwich College, November 2000.

Dominic is working on a book entitled Chilli in Your Eyes about the development of British Asian theatre and writing 1985-2001.