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George ('Ghengis' to his children) Khan came to Britain as an immigrant in the 1930's, settling in Salford and marrying Ella, a white woman. Now it is 1971, George is king of his own castle (read 'chip-shop') and rules his family with an iron fist, attempting to instill eastern values amidst all the temptations of a western society.
But it is a losing battle. Eldest son Nazir (no longer acknowledged as George's son) has left home to escape his fathers tyranny. Abdul and Tariq have little interest in their fathers culture whilst Saleem is fully taken up in studying for an Art degree (his father thinks it is Engineering). Daughter Meenah hates wearing Saris, and youngest son Sajit has been driven into his shell by all the infighting (or more precisely his parka which he refuses to take off - ever!). Only Maneer has any interest in the Koran and his fathers value.
British mum Ella is run ragged, running the chip shop whilst caring for the family and trying to hold it together. But it's about to get worse. Sajit escaped being circumcised as an infant, now George has found out and wants the situation rectified. At the same time he is planning arranged marriages for Abdul and Tariq against their wishes and those of their mother Ella. It is time to take a stand, but by whom? and how will George react to any challenge to his authority. Add in to the mix Auntie Annie's well intentioned meddling and you have the recipe for a rich comedy with a liberal garnish of anger and pathos on the side.
This is a story that explores the gulf between first and second generation immigrant families. George still clings to the values of his homeland, whilst his children are more in tune with those of the country of the own birth. There is no question that George loves his children, but he does not respect them. They in turn fear more than respect him, nor do they truly love him. The play shows how intolerance and unwillingness to participate in the normal give and take of familial life raises tensions in a household leading to anger and frustration which can eventually boil over into violence.
This is a superbly constructed play, the comedy is fresh and genuine and the musical snippets of 70's pop covering the segues between scenes are superbly chosen. The set is very simplistic, dominated by a hinged staircase on castors so that it can be swung to the left or right according to which room in the house is currently being represented. The upper part of the backdrop becomes transparent when backlit to represent the goings on in the street outside.
The comedy ranges is at times outrageous and cringe-making, two examples of the latter being Auntie Annie inspecting Sajits lack of the lack of a foreskin, and the moment when Saleem's much vaunted model turns to be a .... well see the play and find out for yourself.
This production was graced with superior acting from every single cast member. Ernest Ignatius was magnificent as George, fully capturing the frustration at his failure to win his childrens true respect that eventually drives him to violence. Janys Chambers was a brash, down to earth Ella, caught in the middle but determined to protect her children from George's overbearing parenting. Sarah Parks brought the role of loud mouthed Auntie Annie to noisy reality whilst Aftab Sachak gave a business-like dual performance as the Doctor and Mr Shah. The younger cast members also without exception captured the very different character traits of their individual characters most admirably. They were Davood Ghadami as Tariq, Damian Asher as Abdul, Chris Nayak as Maneer, John Afzal as Saleem, Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi as Meenah, and Adam Deacon as Sajit. The latter only revealed his face his to us late in the peice, most of the time being hidden deep within the snorkel hood of his parka. Oh, and by the way Meenah, you were wrong about one thing, you absolutely did not look stupid in that sari.
A bitter-sweet comedy. Superbly acted, occasionally violent, always funny.