HIT comedy play Mrs Kapoor’s Daughter’s Wedding 2: Mauritius has been playing to packed houses during another successful UK tour.
The current tour will conclude with a historymaking performance in London’s West End with a show at Adelphi Theatre on July 16. With nearly 100,000 tickets sold, it’s a great British Asian success story masterminded by the show’s writer, producer and director Archana Kumar. She also stars in the show and is rightly proud of all it has achieved.
Eastern Eye caught up with the cool creative to find out more about the remarkable show, its journey and future.
How do you reflect on your journey with the Mrs Kapoor plays?
Mrs Kapoor has just taken over. I feel so proud that it’s become a household name and managed to bring so much happiness and laughter to many. The fact that we will reach over 100,000 audience members on this tour is just the icing on the cake or as Mrs Kapoor would say, the chutney on the samosa.
Did you expect the shows to become huge hits?
From the minute I finished the script I knew this was going to be something spectacular, because there’s nothing like this out there.
It’s super relatable and so unique. With the blend of comedy, dance, music and a cultural experience, it was definitely going to be loved by the audience.
Why do you think the show has connected so strongly with audiences?
Every household goes through similar dramas and that’s why the audience can really relate to it.
It’s a show that brings in three generations, from kids, parents to grandparents and all can feel a connection. We include local references and trending topics to make it feel current and connective.
How does Mrs Kapoor’s Daughter’s Wedding 2: Mauritius (MKDW 2) compare to the first one?
We have really scaled up with MKDW 2 from the amazing sets that you see changing in each act, to the award winning star cast and the immersive experience. Just when we thought the first part was absolutely phenomenal, MKDW2 just brings on a whole new entertainment package and an unforgettable theatre experience.
How much of the show is inspired by real life experiences?
It’s definitely inspired from weddings I’ve attended and auntyjis we all know. That’s what makes it so much more fun and relatable. How do you balance writing, producing and directing the show with acting in it? It’s definitely a challenge, but I absolutely love it. I treat it like a big puzzle.
I focus on all the different pieces separately; the dancing, acting, script writing. Then when the time comes, I put the whole thing together to create the masterpiece.
How important was it for you to assemble such a talented cast?
So important, as the characters are key in bringing the script and my vision to life. We have assembled some of the most talented south Asian artists.
Read Also: Trump found guilty on all counts, first US president convicted of a crime
I feel so proud they have an opportunity to showcase their talents at some of the most renowned theatres in the UK.
In her play Mrs Kapoor’s Daughter’s Wedding 2: Mauritius
What is your own favourite moment in the play?
Oh my god, I have so many. If I must pick just one moment, it has to be the wedding day scene. It’s full of drama, and so cleverly put together – definitely a highlight for me.
How much are looking forward to taking this show to London’s West End?
I’m feeling so proud and excited for south Asians. This will be the first British Asian Gujarati theatre show to hit the West End. So it’s definitely going to be history in the making.
What does the future hold for the Mrs Kapoor franchise?
So, this is an exclusive, I’ve not mentioned this to anyone yet. I’m currently writing Mrs Kapoor’s third daughter’s wedding, and I’m so excited for this. Again, it’s going to be something that’s never been done in south Asian theatre, and I can’t wait for you all to see this.
What inspires you creatively?
Hanging out at weddings. I also absolutely love theatre, immersive experiences, reading, and dancing brings me lots of creativeness.
Why should we all watch the show?
It’s an immersive experience. For the very first time the theatre will be split in two, you can book your tickets from the groom or bride’s side. It’s interactive, so you will feel part of the big fat desi wedding. It’s hilarious, relatable, and full on entertaining. I would love to see more people come and enjoy this big fat Asian wedding and celebrate as we make history with Mrs Kapoor’s Daughter’s Wedding.
Mrs Kapoor’s Daughter’s Wedding 2: Mauritius is being staged at RNCM Theatre, Manchester, on Sunday (2), New Theatre, Cardiff (June 15), The Alexandra, Birmingham (June 23) and Adelphi Theatre, London (July 16). www.mkdw.co.uk
The actor’s evolving style from youth to maturity getty images
Aamir Khan embracing vintage looks with classic charmgetty images
Bold and dramatic changes defining Aamir Khan’s careergetty images
From rugged to refined Aamir Khan’s versatile appearancesgetty images
Memorable film moments showcasing Aamir Khan’s unique stylegetty images
Aamir Khan’s blend of classic and contemporary fashiongetty images
Aamir Khan’s dedication to authentic character portrayals getty images
Cinematic milestones reflected in Aamir Khan’s on-screen imagegetty images
A seated Jain enlightened teacherAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Ganesha from JavaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Chinese silk painting depicting the BuddhaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
ArdhanarishvaraAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Head of a grimacing yakshaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
NagaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Bimaran casketAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Hunia Chawla
A still from rehearsal
Them performing liveNajmuddin Saifuddin Qawwal Group
The cast of Marriage Material in key moments from the play, including Avita Jay, Kiran Landa, Omar Malik, Irfan Shamji and Anoushka Deshmukh
Sathnam Sanghera’s 'Marriage Material' adapted into bold new play on conformity
The play Marriage Material at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s adaptation of Sathnam Sanghera’s novel of the same name, which first came out in 2013.
She is lucky to have Iqbal Khan direct Marriage Material. The play, a co-production with the Birmingham Rep, is set in the late 1960s. Mr and Mrs Bains (played by Jaz Singh Deol and Avita Jay) run a corner shop in Wolverhampton. Their younger daughter, Surinder (Anoushka Deshmukh), is 16, her sister Kamaljit (Kiran Landa) is just a bit older.
They have a neighbour, Patwant Dhanda (Irfan Shamji), who, as we shall soon see, is not a very pleasant man. In fact, he comes across just as racist as Enoch Powell, who represented Wolverhampton South West for the Tories from 1950 to 1974.
It will be recalled this was a time when Sikhs working on the buses were told they couldn’t wear a turban. That was a hard-fought battle that had to be won.
The Bains, meanwhile, simply want to get their girls married off.
Nothing new here, I thought.
What makes the tale different is that the plot twists and turns down the generations. Mr Dhanda, who has the makings of a paedophile, makes a pitch for one of the girls when Mr Bains dies early in the play. “A life with no man in the house is no life,” he informs the newly widowed Mrs Bains.
Mr Dhanda has a wife but she has returned to India so he considers himself to be a free man.
Surinder’s English teacher from school, Miss Flanagan (Celeste Dodwell), who is also head of the fifth form, tells Mrs Bains about her daughter: “I don’t want to embarrass you, but she is bright. Ridiculously bright.”
She adds: “Mrs Bains, I think it would be a pity if Surinder didn’t stay on at school.” The initial response from Mrs Bains is not encouraging: “Too much education makes people’s brains get mixed up, they don’t sleep at night…”
But she is finally persuaded that Surinder should be allowed to stay on for a while longer before being married off.
Mr Bains was very old school. When Surinder confides she would one day like to be “a somebody”, he is amused that “my daughter wants to be a somebody”.
“Like you,” she tells her father.
Mr Bains consoles his daughter: “We will find a somebody for you to marry.”
At the point of a possible marriage, however, Surinder is sweet-talked by chocolate salesman Jim Wilson (Tommy Belshaw) into running away with him. They share a love of literature, and he calls her “Sue Bains”. But the relationship does not end well.
Once she has left, Surinder is written off as “dead” by her family. The story that is circulated is that she was only 16 when she was killed in a car crash. That’s better than to let on that she ran off with a white man.
By the time she is reconciled with her sister towards the end of the play, a great deal has changed. Kamaljit married Tanvir Banga (Omar Malik), a young man who helped out in the Bains’ corner shop. When the two sisters meet again, Tanvir has also died. But he and Kamaljit had a son, Arjan Banga (Jaz Singh Deol doubles up for this role after the death of Mr Bains). He has come home after his father’s death to help his mother who is still running the family corner shop.
Meanwhile, Mr Dhanda’s business has prospered. He now has a son, Ranjit Dhanda (the role is taken by Omar Malik after Tanvir’s death), and he is nearly as unpleasant as his father.
Arjan has an English fiancée, Claire (Celeste Dodwell). In London, Arjan worked as a creative director. But after deciding to stay in Wolverhampton to help his mother, he decides he cannot marry Claire because she is white. In other words, Asians are not free of racism, either. Happily, at the end, the couple are reconciled.
As for Surinder, she parted company with Jim Wilson after realising he was all talk, depended on her for money and had failed to earn a penny from his literary pretensions. She had prospered, though, as a hotel owner and had been transformed in time into a well-groomed businesswoman. After being tracked down by Arjan, she decides to return to her roots in Wolverhampton and help Kamaljit run the family corner shop. Perhaps 50 years had passed during the passage of the play.
Being subjected to racism turned some Asians into racists themselves. The word goreh (white person) is repeatedly spat out with venom. Maybe it is worth remembering the play’s audience isn’t exclusively Asian – white folk are watching as well. And maybe some of the toilet humour ridiculing white people, which always makes me cringe, could be cut out.
In Sanghera’s novel, there is a quote from Enoch Powell’s speech in November 1968: “The West Indian or Asian does not, by being born in England, become an Englishman. In law he becomes a United Kingdom citizen by birth; in fact, he is a west Indian or an Asian still... he will by the very nature of things have lost one country without gaining another, lost one nationality without acquiring a new one. Time is running out against us and them. With the lapse of a generation or so we shall at last have succeeded – to the benefit of nobody – in reproducing ‘in England’s green and pleasant land’ the haunting tragedy of the US.”
In Marriage Material, where the acting is marvellous (apart from Mr Dhanda’s Indian mannerisms and accent being overdone) we do travel across a couple of generations.
There is a scene when Tanvir rejects Mr Dhanda’s vision of creating a little Punjab in Wolverhampton.
Mr Dhanda wants to take over the Bains’ corner shop and is putting pressure on Tanvir to sign the papers. He says: “In this country, money is the path to freedom.”
“Sign, please,” he instructs Tanvir. “We must make sure our children learn to behave nicely, according to our rules.”
He insists: “We maintain our identity so we can be ourselves.”
Tanvir disagrees: “We can be us here. With the goreh.”
Dhanda warns him: “Then we will be inviting chaos.”
Tanvir’s comment is telling: “You sound like Enoch.”
Kamaljit, who is expecting a baby with her husband Tanvir, says: “I would like my child to grow up knowing the history of the Gurus and to read the Granth Sahib. And to love their culture.”
Tanvir tells his wife: “I would like my child to go to the finest schools, to cheer for England in the World Cup and eat Yorkshire pudding on a Sunday.”
Kamaljit sets out a dream that has perhaps come to pass with many third and fourth generation British Asians: “Maybe our child can do both.” Much, much later, in a throwback to the past, we learn of Surinder’s O-level results: “Biology A, Chemistry A, English Language A, English Literature A, French A, History B, Latin A, Mathematics A, Physics A…”
Kamaljit tells her younger sister: “Never mind about the B.”
And that is quintessentially Asian. Their acting is outstanding.
Marriage Material is at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre until June 21, and at the Birmingham Rep from June 25-July 5