Rafta, Rafta...

Synopsis

Based on All in Good Time by Bill Naughton. LATA: You can’t joke about these things. It’ll bring bad luck. Terrible tragedies occur when brides tempt the wrath of the gods. VINA: Maybe in Bollywood, mum, not in Oldham. The wedding feast is over and his father’s dancing the bhangra, but the groom himself is busy on the net. and when it’s time for bed, he’s so woefully inhibited by the proximity of his parents, let alone his brother’s childish pranks, that his beautiful virgin bride remains just that. six weeks later, the whole family start to panic. A hugely warm-hearted, comic tale of close-knit Indian family life in England by the author of East is East, Ayub Khan-Din.

Our Review:

15 May 2010

Originally produced to great acclaim at the National Theatre in 2007 and then on Broadway in 2008, it seems only natural that the play should be given a high profile production in Bolton, the town of its setting.

The play explores the often complex and difficult marital relationships between newlyweds Vina and Atul and both their sets of parents, whilst also delving into the area of mother/daughter and father/son relationships.  

With British Indian families at its core, it could have been all too easy for Khan Din to focus on racial issues which can lead to cliched stereotypes. Thnakfully he avoids this and places the focus on the personal and humanistic elements. However, the tone of the play is uneven and whilst a talent for sharp and smart writing is evident in Din’s script, there are all too often scenes that feel uncomfortable and unnatural with characters given speeches and lines that seem out of kilter with the established characterisations.  ...

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