GLASS ROOTS by Alexander Matthews Comes to the Tristan Bates

'GLASS ROOTS', a fast-paced suburban thriller, is written by writer and philosopher Alexander Matthews and forms part of Matthews' debut season at the Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden.

'GLASS ROOTS' is a sharply observed piece of social drama: hard-working Thila (Natalie Perera) and her husband Sadjit (Kal Sabir) run a modestly successful Indian restaurant in east London. All their tasty food is cooked from scratch, they've built up a regular clientele and they'll even stay open late for their favourite customers including posh Celia (Victoria Broom) and Rupert (Ben Warwick) who bicker and banter over their favourite dishes.

Enter the bored, broke, bullying Diesel (Mitchell Fisher) and Spaceman (Sam Rix) whose idea of a great night out is to kick down the door of the restaurant, taunt everyone in sight and relish the opportunity of raining down snarling racist insults, fists, boots and anything they can uproot from the floor in the direction of the terrified Thila and Sadjit. While other customers look on or bolt for the exit.

'Glass Roots' asks what happens when you're bullied and unable to defend yourself? Does anyone help you? Can you find a way in the turmoil to help yourself? Can you survive with your psychology intact or is the damage permanent? And does such a terrible ordeal have unexpected consequences?

"'Glass Roots' addresses the violent clash of ignorance, racism, class and jealousy and wonders at the outcome," says Alexander Matthews. "The protagonists' frustrations and longings are a hook, their being bullied is another. In a way, the feelings of the audiences will be forced into a corner by the bullying and that will steer them towards Thila and Sadjit."

'GLASS ROOTS' CAST:

VICTORIA BROOM - Celia
Victoria's TV credits include: Marcella (ITV/Netflix), Different for Girls (JackDaw Productions), Nurses Who Kills (First look TV and Alibi), Crossroads (Carlton Television), Derren Brown Hero at 33000 Feet (Channel 4). Her theatre credits include Tomorrow Never Knows, and The Trial (Barbican).

MITCHELL FISHER - Diesel
Mitchell's many theatre credits include The Litaratti, A Flat Full of Chandeliers, True Dare Kiss, and Jerusalem. TV credits include England and the Road to Modernity, Hard Work (Channel 4) and the independent film Blackout which won best film at the Southampton International Film Festival.

NATALIE PERERA - Thila
Natalie's theatre credits include Antony and Cleopatra and Lear (by Edward Bond) both at Central School of Speech and Drama; A Golden Age, A Space Odyssey, Pinocchio, The Duchess of Malfi (various).

SAM RIX - Spaceman
Sam is an actor, writer, voice artist and storyteller and as a member of the BBC radio repertory company, has appeared in a host of audio dramas. Theatre credits include Pomona, The Den and PLAY 1. He is a recurring character on the TV series The Royals. His film credits include We Still Steal The Old Way and Out Of It.

KAL SABIR - Sadjit

Kal's theatre credits include Romeo & Juliet, Home Is Where..., Loyalty & Dissent (various theatre companies). In 2017 he made his TV drama debut in the new crime show Armchair Detectives (BBC 1) and his film debut in Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

BEN WARWICK - Rupert
Ben's many theatre credits include Frankenstein (Blackeyed Theatre), Jane Eyre, Hamlet (English Touring Theatre), The Oedipus Plays (Royal National Theatre), Les Liaisons Dangereuses and more. TV includes Mary Queen of Scots (BBC) Emmerdale (ITV), The Big Picture, Five Years.

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