Birmingham Repertory Theatre to Present Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's KHANDAN (FAMILY), 22 May - 7 June

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's warm and funny new play Khandan (Family) premieres at Birmingham Repertory Theatre this May.

Set in a Birmingham suburb, Khandan (Family) is a tale of tradition and ambition and what happens when the legacy of a father collides with the dreams of his son.

Widow Jeeto Gill has spent her life working hard and making sacrifices for her children. Now she looks forward to going back to her land in the Punjab, eating saag and roti on a verandah and letting her tired eyes rest on green fields.

Her son Pal seems to have it all but he's restless. He's got big plans for his Daddy's business and a taste for Johnny Walker Black Label. However, his kind-hearted wife Liz has her own ideas about what's best.

Meanwhile Pal's sharp-tongued sister Cookie runs the tackiest beauty salon in town and harbours a dark secret.

When their cousin's destitute wife, Reema, arrives from back home, the Gills propose to take care of her. Little do they know that her arrival will change the course of their family's destiny forever.

Khandan (Family) is Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's third play for Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Her previous plays include Behsharam (Shameless) and Behzti (Dishonour) for The REP and also Behud (Beyond Belief) for Soho Theatre. On screen her credits include Everywhere and Nowhere, and EastEnders. Gurpreet also writes regularly for The Archers.

The cast includes Birmingham-born Lauren Crace as Liz. Lauren's television credits include Mr Selfridge, Shameless and EastEnders and her most recent theatre includes Theatre Uncut at the Young Vic and Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Salisbury Playhouse. Zita Sattar, also from Birmingham and who plays Cookie, first appeared at The REP in the premiere of East is East. Her other theatre credits include The Vagina Monologues. On screen she has appeared in West is West and her television credits include Casualty.

Playing Reema is Preeya Kalidas who perhaps is best known for playing Amira Masood in EastEnders. Previously Preeya was a cast after a worldwide search in the leading role of AR Rahman's Bombay Dreams produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Her most recent theatre credits include Oxford Street at the Royal Court.

Sudha Bhuchar plays Jeeto. Her theatre credits include Zindabad and Lotus Beauty at the Gate and Sweet Cider at the Arcola. Her television credits include Stella, Casualty and EastEnders. Sudha is Artistic Director of Tamasha, and is both an actor and playwright.

Playing Pal is Rez Kempton whose theatre credits include Drawing the Line at the Hampstead, The Arbor at Sheffield Crucible and Hijra at the Bush. Completing the cast is Neil D'Souza as Major, whose theatre credits include Much Ado about Nothing with the RSC, Herges Adventures of Tin Tin in the West End and The Man of Mode at the National.

Khandan (Family) is directed by Roxana Silbert with design by Jamie Vartan, lighting design by Chahine Yavroyan, and sound by Giles Thomas.

Khandan (Family) is a co-production between Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre where it will run for three weeks immediately after its premiere in Birmingham.

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