How do you feel when one of your favourite films makes a highly anticipated return to the stage?
I honestly could not stop grinning when I discovered East is East is returning to its original home of the theatre. Penned by the icon Ayub Khan-Din, the stage play has been performed since 1996 over the decades, returning this year for a special 30th anniversary tour.
Perhaps the version most people are familiar with, is the 1999 silver screen incarnation and Damien O’Donnell directed vehicle.
What happens in East is East
The film sees the Khans, a mixed heritage family, navigate the cultural complexities set in 1970s Britain. Pakistani patriarch George is married to the feisty yet compromising Ella. Together, the chalk-and-cheese couple live with their seven children in a terrace in Salford while running a fish and chip shop.
It is the universal theme of strict parental control and lack of understanding between generations that is the main cause of conflict in this thought-provoking tale.
The play is biographical, being heavily influenced by Khan-Din’s own life; his father was a Pakistani immigrant who ran a chippy with his British wife. Khan-Din was one of 10 children and the green-coated Sajit is said to be based on Khan-Din himself.
Directed by Kash Arshad the play deftly balances youth rebellion and oppression against a backdrop of political upheaval abroad, with far-reaching consequences all the way from then East Pakistan.
George’s feeling of helplessness about the political upheaval in Pakistan, is compounded by the frustration he feels at home. It is this inability to control his children, while harking back to his own childhood where compliance was the done thing, that is the catalyst for him lashing out on his family.
To play the larger-than-life character of George – a person with a good heart and iron fist – requires gravitas which Bhasker Patel does brilliantly.
Ella (Samantha Power) gives a powerhouse of a performance as embattled wife and fiercely protective mum trying to do the right thing.
Auntie Annie (Victoria Brazier) is a scene stealer with her no-nonsense, deadpan deliveries.
The kids are a joy to watch. From Meenah (Maya Dhokia) who makes the role her own through excellent comic timing, to Maneer (Joeraver Sangha) and Abdul (Danyal Ismail) who embody the tension of wanting to be dutiful yet retain independent spirit, the show is heartbreaking and uplifting.
I was glad to see Saleem’s ‘Pablo Bleeding Picasso’ scene in the play, the creative artist expertly brought to life by Matthew Khan.
Sajit was given a new mental health dimension not seen in the film, which I thought was interesting, as it is something I had not thought about before.
Playing beloved characters immortalised on the silver screen is never an easy thing, especially when stepping into the shoes of heavyweight actors such as the late, great Om Puri and multi-award winning Archie Panjabi.
Kash Arshad’s play stands tall and proud alongside its film predecessor, making it a perfect play to enjoy this season and beyond.
East is East is a collaborative project between Octagon Theatre Bolton, Citizens Theatre Glasgow & Wiltshire Creative Production and Derby Theatre.
East is East is showing at Derby Theatre from October 20 – 24, 2026. For more information click here: derbytheatre.co.uk/event/east-is-east