East is East is a play by Ayub Khan-Din

Ayub Khan-Din

Ayub Khan-Din is a British Pakistani actor and playwright.As an actor, Khan-Din participated in some 20 British films and TV series in the late 1980s and the 1990s...

, first produced by Tamasha Theatre Company

Tamasha Theatre Company

Tamasha is a British theatre company founded in 1989 by director Kristine Landon-Smith and actor / writer Sudha Bhuchar with a mission to bring contemporary drama of Asian influence to the British stage....

 in co-production with the Royal Court

Royal Court Theatre

The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...

 and Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...

. It is often cited as one of the key works to bring Asian culture to mainstream British audiences. The play is published by Nick Hern Books

Nick Hern Books

Nick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen drama editor Nick Hern in 1988.-History:...

.

History

The play was first performed at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...

 Studio on 8 October 1996, before enjoying three sell-out London runs and an Olivier Award nomination for Best New Comedy.

East is East went on to be made into a BAFTA award-winning film of the same name released in 1999, launching the careers of many of the play's original cast members.

Credits

• Director - Kristine Landon-Smith
• Designer - Sue Mayes
• Lighting Designer - Paul Taylor
• Dialect Coach - Jill McCullough
• Fight Director - Malcolm Ransom
• Original Cast - Imran Ali, Linda Bassett
  Linda Bassett
  Linda Bassett is an English actress, who is well known in the United Kingdom for her film career.Bassett was born in Kent, England to a typist mother and a police officer father. Her roles include the award-winning part of Ella Khan in the 1999 British comedy film East is East...
  
  , Paul Bazely
  Paul Bazely
  Paul Bazely is an English actor, best known for his performance in Benidorm.His TV credits include: Making Out, Heartbeat, Doctors, Holby City, Vanity Fair, The IT Crowd and Footballers Wives....
  
  , Chris Bisson
  Chris Bisson
  Christopher Paul "Chris" Bisson is a British actor.-Career:Born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, Chris Bisson first appeared on television as J.J. in Children's Ward in 1990...
  
  , Kriss Dosanjh, Emil Marwa
  Emil Marwa
  Emil Marwa, born in 1974, is a Norwegian actor, known for his acting in films like Izzat, East Is East, and The Guru. -Awards:-Selected filmography:-External links:...
  
  , Jimi Mistry
  Jimi Mistry
  -Early life:Mistry, was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England to an Indian Hindu father and an Irish Roman Catholic mother. He was brought up a Roman Catholic and attended St. James' Catholic High in Cheadle Hulme before his family moved to Cardiff where he attended Radyr Comprehensive School...
  
  , Lesley Nicol, Zita Sattar
  Zita Sattar
  Zita Sattar is an English television, theatre and film actress.- Background :Zita was born in 1975 in Birmingham, England. She is of mixed heritage, her mum is British and her dad Pakistani. At aged 11, as a young amateur actress, Zita was one of the founder members of Birmingham's Central Junior...
  
  , Nadim Sawalha
  Nadim Sawalha
  Nadim Sawalha is a Jordanian-born English actor and father of actresses Julia and Nadia Sawalha.He was born in Madaba in 1935 and came to England from Jordan in the 1950s, to study drama...