Here’s a look at Marriage Material, which is now running at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre with a cast featuring Tommy Belshaw, Jaz Singh Deol and Anoushka Deshmukh.
The Bains’ corner shop in Wolverhampton has been at the centre of the family for three generations.
Against the backdrop of a changing 20th century, Mrs Bains is balancing running the business, caring for her ailing husband and the demands of her two headstrong daughters, who each have their eye on a different kind of future.
Fast forward to the present day, a family tragedy pulls Arjan Bains back from a life in London. The shop represents everything he was trying to escape, but with his mother insisting it remain open, how long can he stay away?
Belshaw plays Jim/Bill, Deol is Mr Bains/Arjan and Deshmukh is Surinder, with Celeste Dodwell as Claire/Miss Flanagan, Avita Jay as Mrs Bains, Kiran Landa as Kamaljit, Omar Malik as Ranjit/Tanvir, Irfan Shamji as Dhanda.
Sathnam Sanghera’s novel has been adapted for the stage by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti (A King of People), with Iqbal Khan (East is East) directing.
The creative team also includes set & costume designer Good Teeth, lighting designer Simeon Miller, composer & sound designer Holly Khan, movement director Anjali Mehra, associate sound designer Anna Wood, associate movement director Rakhee Sharma, voice & dialect coach Gurkiran Kaur and assistant director Harper K Hefferon. Casting is by Jatinder Chera.
Marriage Material is playing at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre until June 21, before transferring to Birmingham Rep. Tickets: Marriage Material
Top image: Marriage Material: Jaz Singh Deol, Anoushka Deshmukh, Irfan Shamji, Omar Malik and Kiran Landa. Photography by Helen Murray (image supplied)
