Stage: East is East
Ayub Khan Din’s classic cross-cultural family drama comes to the Theatre Royal Brighton
Award winning Pauline McLynn will play Ella Khan in Ayub Khan Din’s critically acclaimed play East is East, which opens at Theatre Royal Brighton on June 11 before embarking on a 16 week National Tour.
Pauline will be joined by some of the original cast from the West End production of East is East: Ashley Kumar (Tariq Khan), Darren Kuppan (Maneer Khan) and Sally Bankes (Auntie Annie).
Pauline McLynn said “I am very excited to be part of this production. The play by Ayub Khan Din is sparkling, funny and tender and I’m delighted to be working with the brilliant Sam Yates. I cannot wait to get out there with it!”
Pakistani chip shop owner George Khan – “Genghis” to his kids – is determined to give his children a strict Muslim upbringing against the unforgiving backdrop of 1970s Salford. Household tension reaches breaking point as their long-suffering English mother, Ella, gets caught in the cross fire – her loyalties divided between her marriage and the free will of her children.
East is East, Ayub Khan Din’s semi-autobiographical account of British Asian life in the 1970s and the clash of cultures between a multi-cultural family growing up in Salford, is a play that continues to resonate and provoke discussion. This long awaited revival of a modern comedy classic promises to be unmissable.
Pauline McLynn is best known for screen roles including Mrs Doyle in Father Ted (for which she won a British Comedy Award), Libby Croker in Shameless and her current role playing Yvonne Cotton in EastEnders. Pauline’s stage credits include most recently The Knight of the Burning Pestle, at The Globe, Happy Days at Sheffield Crucible and Playboy of the Western World at the Donmar Warehouse.
East is East, was Ayub Khan Din’s first play, following an initial career as an actor. It was staged at the Royal Court in 1997 and, subsequently, Ayub adapted the play into a hugely successful feature film, starring Om Puri and Linda Bassett. For his screenplay, Ayub won a British Independent Film Award and a London Critics’ Circle Film Award, and was nominated for two BAFTAs for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Carl Foreman Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and a European Film Award for Best Screenwriter. Ayub was last seen on stage in the West End/National tour run of East is East at Trafalgar Studios as part of the Trafalgar Transformed season, playing for the first time, the role of George. Other stage credits include the title role of Bunty Berman Presents, under the wing of The New Group at the Acorn Theatre, Off-Broadway. The musical was co-authored by Ayub and Grammy and Emmy Award winner Paul Bogaev. He made his film debut in My Beautiful Laundrette, but is perhaps best known for the role of Sammy in Hanif Kureishi’s Sammy and Rosie Get Laid – both directed by Stephen Frears.
Director Sam Yates most recently directed Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and directed Ruth Wilson in The El Train at Hoxton Hall. He was Artistic Associate at Royal and Derngate Theatres from 2011-2013. He trained with directors Jamie Lloyd, Michael Grandage, Trevor Nunn, Josie Rourke and Phyllida Lloyd.
East is East, Theatre Royal Brighton, Thu 11 – Sat 20 Jun
0844 871 7650
