Sunday 13 May 2007

Rafta, Rafta - TNT

It's more than a decade since actor-turned-playwright Ayub Khan-Din struck gold with the funny East is East. His new project takes Bill Naughton's Bolton-based All in Good Time, updates it to the present, changes the protagonists from working class Northerners to Indian immigrants, and once again focuses on the conflicts that can arise between them. One can't help but sympathise with newlyweds Atul and Vina as they begin married life in the Dutt family home. With barely a wall to separate them from the loo and the in-laws, it's hardly surprising nothing's happening in the bedroom. There's the familiar air of the sitcom about the postnuptial family celebrations but, once Khan-Din scratches the surface, the warm-hearted adaptation reaps rewards, and Bollywood's Harish Patel has moments of supreme comedy and real pathos as Atul's genial but insensitive father.
Lyttelton at the National South Bank, SE1 020-7452 3000. Until June 23. £39.50-£10

Louise kingsley

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