WISE CHILDREN AND RSC’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF HANIF KUREISHI’S THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA,
ADAPTED BY EMMA RICE, TRANSFERS TO THE BARBICAN
★★★★★
‘Intoxicating five-star show’
The Times
Wise Children today announces the London transfer of their co-production with the RSC, the critically acclaimed production The Buddha of Suburbia. Based on the novel by Hanif Kureishi, and adapted for the stage by Emma Rice, with Hanif Kureishi, the show opens at the Barbican on 29 October, with previews from 22 October, running until 16 November 2024.
Artistic Director of Wise Children Emma Rice said today,“I have truly loved making this show, and spending time immersed in Hanif’s laugh-out-loud funny, rude and anarchic world. His razor sharp wit is The Buddha of Suburbia’s secret weapon, but beneath the jokes lies deep, profound and pure love. In the rehearsal room, I was moved to tears daily by this powerful and political piece, and I am absolutely thrilled that it is transferring to the Barbican. I want as many people as possible to experience this joyful production – especially this iconic London novel’s home crowd. I cannot wait!”
Hanif Kureishi added, “I worked on this idea with Emma for a while, without much of a notion of what it would actually look or sound like. Emma is a wonderfully visual director; her shows are great to look at. But I believe that if you are lucky enough to work with an artist like her, you must let them be as creative and as original as they want to be. And so, when I finally got to see the show, live streamed to my computer at home, I fell in love with it straight away: the colour, costumes, music, and of course her brilliant casting. I was delighted by the response to the show, both from the critics and from the audience, who always had a good time. Now I am very excited to see the show in another iteration at the Barbican, in front I hope, of a young and diverse London crowd. We want to give them as good a time as the patrons in Stratford had; and I’m sure Emma’s work, and that of the brilliant actors she has cast, will resonate with a new audience.”
★★★★★
‘Feelgood entertainment’
The Telegraph
A Wise Children and RSC Co-production
THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA
Based on the novel by Hanif Kureishi
Adapted for the stage by Emma Rice, with Hanif Kureishi
Directed by Emma Rice
Barbican
Tuesday 22 October – Saturday 16 November
Set Designer: Rachana Jadhav; Costume Designer: Vicki Mortimer; Sound and Video Designer: Simon Baker; Lighting Designer: Jai Morjaria; Composer: Niraj Chag; Choreographer: Etta Murfitt; Fight Director: Kev McCurdy; Casting Director: Matthew Dewsbury CDG
An irresistible, heart-breaking and joyful exploration of family, friends, sex, theatre and, ultimately, belonging. Emma Rice adapts the award-winning 1990 novel, The Buddha of Suburbia with Hanif Kureishi in a major new co-production with Wise Children and the RSC.
Emma Rice is the Artistic Director of Wise Children and is an internationally respected theatre-maker and director. For Wise Children she has adapted and directed Blue Beard, The Little Matchgirl and Happier Tales, Wuthering Heights, Bagdad Café, Angela Carter’s Wise Children, Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers and Romantics Anonymous. As Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe: Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Little Matchgirl (and Other Happier Tales). Rice worked for Kneehigh as an actor, director and Artistic Director, creating critically acclaimed productions including, but not limited to: The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, The Wild Bride, The Red Shoes, Cymbeline (in association with RSC), A Matter of Life and Death (in association with National Theatre), Brief Encounter (in association with David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers Productions), Don John (in association with the RSC and Bristol Old Vic), Wah! Wah! Girls (in association with Sadler’s Wells and Theatre Royal Stratford East for World Stages), and Steptoe and Son. She received the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre award at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards.
Hanif Kureishi is a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. His father’s family was displaced during the partition of India and Pakistan. Due to his mother being English, the family ended up in London. Hanif studied philosophy and achieved early success as a playwright. He collaborated with several London theatre companies. Commissioned by Channel 4, he wrote the script for My Beautiful Laundrette, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. The Buddha of Suburbia, his debut novel, was adapted into a television series, featuring a soundtrack by David Bowie. His book Intimacy sparked controversy due to its autobiographical nature, which Hanif denied. The film adaptation, Intimacy, based on his stories and the book, was released in 2001. For the screenplay of the film Venus, Hanif received another Oscar nomination. The film was directed by his close friend Roger Michell. In 2008, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and in 2014, he sold his archive to the British Library. In December 2022, he suffered a serious fall in Rome, resulting in paralysis. After an extended stay in rehabilitation centres, he now resides at home in an adapted residence in London.
★★★★
‘Lovable and cheeky’
Guardian
Listings Information
THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA
BARBICAN
Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS
Box Office: https://www.barbican.org.uk/
Tickets from £25
For Wise Children supporters booking opens on 5 July, with public booking from Tuesday 9 July.
Tuesday 22 October – Saturday 16 November