Theatre News

East is East with Jane Horrocks to tour UK

The production opens later this month as part of Trafalgar Transformed

Jane Horrocks and Ayub Khan Din in rehearsals for East is East
Jane Horrocks and Ayub Khan Din in rehearsals for East is East

The upcoming revival of Ayub Khan Din's East is East starring Jane Horrocks will embark on a three-week tour after its run at Trafalgar Studios.

The production, which starts previews this week (4 October), is part of Lloyd's second Trafalgar Transformed season at Trafalgar Studios.

After finishing its London run on 3 January 2015, it will tour to the New Alexandra Theatre Birmingham (14-17 January), Richmond Theatre (19-24 January) and the Manchester Opera House (26-31 January).

Horrocks plays Ella Khan in the production, alongside playwright Ayub Khan Din as her husband George. He said: "It's great that we are touring East is East – I believe it's really important that London shows can be seen all over the country.

"I'm particularly proud to be playing the Opera House in Manchester, a theatre I used to pass every day on the bus on my way to a job I hated, little thinking that one day my own play would be gracing its stage."

East is East, which premiered at the Royal Court in 1997, centres on mixed-ethnicity household in 1970s Salford. It was successfully adapted for the screen in 1999 with a cast including Linda Bassett and Jimi Mistry.

Horrocks, whose previous stage credits include Annie Get Your Gun and Cabaret, said: "I haven't been on tour for a long time, and it's always fun taking a show out of the West End, especially one as funny as this, that remains as relevant today as when it was written in the 90s."