Birmingham Repertory Theatre is excited to announce the full casting for its 25th anniversary production of East Is East, the classic comic family drama of the British-Asian experience. The cast is led by Tony Jayawardena as George and Sophie Stanton as Ella. The rest of the cast is completed by Amy-Leigh Hickman as Meenah; Irvine Iqbal as Mr Shah/Dr; Adonis Jenieco as Saleem; Rachel Lumberg as Annie; Noah Manzoor as Sajit; Joeravar Sangha as Maneer; Gurjeet Singh as Tariq and Assad Zaman as Abdul.
George Khan wants to raise his family the proper Pakistani way but hasn’t counted on the distractions of 70s Salford. Abdul and Tariq aren’t ready to be married off, Saleem is pushing artistic boundaries, Meenah’s skirt is too short and Sajit just wants to hide in his parka. Can mum Ella keep the family together? Since premiering on The REP’s stage in 1996, East Is East has sold out three London runs, been adapted into a BAFTA Award-winning film and become a modern classic of comic-drama.
The smash-hit comedy-drama now returns home for its 25th anniversary before going onto the National Theatre. The full creative team has also been announced today, with the previously announced Director Iqbal Khan being joined by Bretta Gerecke (Set, Projection and Lighting Design), Susan Kulkarni (Costume Design), Felix Dubs (Composer), Jon Nicholls (Sound Design), Stuart Burt CDG (Casting), Natasha Kathi-Chandra (Associate Director) and Max White (Video Associate). East Is East will play at Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 3-25 September.
In line with current Government regulations, The REP is now open to full capacity, but we continue to take a number of carefully managed steps and precautions to help audiences feel safe and enjoy their chosen performance. The wearing of masks is encouraged throughout the building, additional cleaning will continue and some performances will still have socially distanced seating.
