Glasgow- Citizens Theatre – until 17th October 2026
Reviewed by Marcus Richardson
4****
‘East is East’ still is a relevant story. It’s a tale of identity, of change, and a family, something intrinsically human. This 1996 play explores the Khan family living in Salford during the 1970s, a mixed-race working class family. Written by Ayub Khan Din, this comedy gives us a glimpse into a complex situation, with an easy to follow narrative. At times the play is heartwarming, or hilarious, or even shocking. The Khan family own and work in a chip shop, where their six children also work.
The director, Kash Arshad, weaves his own passions into the play, he brings this story to life by capturing the emotions of the scenes in a truly wonderful way. There is one scene where two characters are dancing to music while cleaning up the chippy that just shines, its playful, unburdened, and simple. The Matriarch of the Family is Ella, played by Samantha Powers, is trying to keep the family together, trying to let her children flourish. Powers is really a standout, the ability to perform in such a natural way makes us really attach to the character. She works wonderfully with the rest of the cast, Power feels attached to whoever she’s performing with wife, mother, and friend. Her Husband George, played by Bhasker Patel, brings a majority of the drama within the play, wanting to keep tradition, expecting his children to follow his word. Patel balances this character really well, he’s a family man, he loves his wife, and at times really funny. Patel understands this complexity really well, George a first-generation immigrant living in 1970s Britain, the character offers a wide audience of what was, and is, a reality for some south asians. The Six children, Abdul, Tariq, Maneer, Saleem, Meenah, and Sajit, played by Danyal Ismail, Zaki Ali, Joeravar Sangha, Matthew Khan, Maya Dhokia, and Rohan MacLeod respectively. As a chaotic collective the work really well together they’re messy, they fight, but they’re family they deeply care for each other. Ismail acts as the voice of reason as the eldest of the six, he appears to be stable within the family dynamic, there is a scene where Ismail shows the internal conflict of the character, and it brings silence from the audience, we were captured. Ali, playing Tariq, the most rebellious of the children, offers a narrative that highlights the children’s relationship with their mixed-race identity and their father. Played in a boisterous way, Ali brings in a fiery energy to the play. Sangha, playing Maneer, who is most connected to his muslim and South Asian identity, Sangha was one of the two characters dancing I mentioned earlier, Sangha had some really good moments of physical comedy. Khan, playing Saleem the artist, a college student who aspires to be something that his father wouldn’t approve of. Khan, plays the character like he is the most normal of the group, which is all thrown out of the window in the final scenes with such comedic flair. Dhokia, playing Meenah, really is one of the boys, she is just like her brothers. Dhokia is also the other dancer I mentioned earlier. MacLeod, playing Sajit is the outlier of the siblings, a character with additional-support needs, however they didn’t have the terminology in the 70s. MacLeod has a difficult task with this character, known to his siblings as ‘Twitch’, I think he did a good job, there’s a scene where he is at the doctors which really made me laugh. Alongside the Khan family there is Auntie Annie, played by Victoria Brazier, who has some of the funniest lines within the play, and Brazier delivers them in such a nonchalant way. Finally in the cast there is Sushil Chudasama, who plays the Doctor and Mr Shah, both characters are polar opposites so its nice to see Chudasama handle them really well.
I throughly enjoyed East is East, even 30 years on it still has a narrative that doesn’t feel dated or irrelevant. The cast, and crew have done such a fantastic job bringing this play to life, and I hope they bring as much joy and knowledge to the other people going. It is on at the Citizens Theatre until the 17th October, and will be heading to Derby, and Salisbury