A Tupperware of Ashes at the National Theatre with Meera Syal – exclusive first look

Exclusive: The National Theatre has released production images for the world premiere of A Tupperware of Ashes, a new play by Tanika Gupta (A Doll’s House, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre).

Starring Meera Syal, the family drama is about life, immigration, and the Indian spiritual cycle of death and rebirth. It is directed by Pooja Ghai (artistic director of Tamasha Theatre Company) and runs at the Dorfman Theatre to 16 November 2024, with a press night tonight.

The story centres on Queenie, an ambitious Michelin-starred chef whose children begin to notice signs of memory loss and a decline in her mental faculties.

The cast includes Raj Bajaj, Natalie Dew, Marc Elliott, Stephen Fewell, Shobna Gulati, Avita Jay, Syal, and Zubin Varla.

The production team includes Rosa Maggiora (set and costume design), Matt Haskins (lighting design), Nitin Sawhney (composer), Elena Peña (sound design), and John Bulleid (illusions director and designer). Additional contributors include Anjali Mehra (movement director), Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown of Rc-Annie Ltd (fight and intimacy directors), Naomi Downham (casting director), David Shrubsole (music associate), Hazel Holder (dialect coach), and Layla Madanat (staff director).