My Beautiful Laundrette

SNAP Theatre Company
Review by Ajay Pamneja

The play based on Hanif Kureishi's famous novel, which has already been made into a film, has just ended its six month tour of the UK.

The performances and the production have so impressed some viewers that the company have been offered a European run, which may well take place soon. 

The play was brought into existence by the Snap Theatre Company and directed by Andy Graham, the founder of the company. The relatively lavish venue of UCL Bloomsbury theatre pulled in a large crowd on the closing night of the play on the 8th June 2002.

The projection of images on the back wall of the stage with voices and other suggestive images definitely make this a technically brilliant production. This was a very clever use which eliminated the use of more actors and also managed to squeeze in a lot more in the 1hr 45 minute production.

The cast included members of varying experiences and age groups, but they all appeared to gel very well and make a slick presentation to a very responsive audience. Each character was ably represented by the cast members who appeared to have lived in the character mould for a very long time as all the performances were well timed and perfectly executed. The technical brilliance of the production showed in the use of video images with voices and sound, the lighting and the very impressive stage design.

Apart from a small criticism of the 'script acceleration' on a couple of occasions where the character emotions changed a bit suddenly and appeared a bit out of place, the production surprised me as after seeing the film/video versions of the book - I was unsure of what to expect from this piece on stage. The two main characters - Omar and Johnny - played the part and were excellent in the portrayal of the emotional roller-coaster their relationship had to endure. Johnny's days of 'influenced youth' and Omar's 'family pressures' were apt depictions of 'poles apart' communities living together with the dreams that one day they could grow into a harmonious society. The scenes of more passionate nature were handled very articulately and the humour was very successfully upgraded from the Thatcherite days to the Tony Blair 'era'.

This production has all the right ingredients to go onto 'bigger & better' things with an extended stay at some venue in our cosmopolitan London town.