'Are you even Indian?' turns diaspora identity into a courtroom drama at Brighton Fringe

Highlights

• Writer-performer Mohit Mathur brings his new dance-theatre production Are You Even Indian? to Brighton Fringe
• The show explores identity, migration, marriage and belonging through a cross-cultural love story
• It will run on 12 and 13 May at Brighton Fringe
• The production previously won Best Show at the Bitesize Festival at Riverside Studios

For many children of migration, home can feel like a moving target and Are You Even Indian? places that tension centre stage.

Written by and starring Mohit Mathur, the new dance-theatre production will be staged at Brighton Fringe on 12 and 13 May. Directed by Leigh Toney, the show explores identity, cultural expectations and belonging through a relationship caught between two versions of home.

The story follows a British-born Indian woman and an Indian-born man who fall in love after a speed-dating encounter. What begins with wedding dances, Bollywood humour and hopes for a future together gradually shifts as deeper questions emerge about identity, language and where home truly lies.

Set inside a surreal courtroom that mirrors a marriage under strain, the couple’s personal choices are put under scrutiny as the production examines what happens when love collides with cultural expectations.

Mathur said the production draws heavily from his own experiences of navigating life between India and the UKMohit Mathur

Inspired by lived experience

Mathur said the production draws heavily from his own experiences of navigating life between India and the UK. He said the play reflects the experience of people who feel caught between two places, those who leave home and those born into diasporic communities who still feel pressure to prove their identity.

Dance plays a central role in the production, with movement used to communicate emotions that dialogue cannot fully express.

From festival winner to Brighton stage

The production was developed with support from ArtsAdmin and was first tested during the Bitesize Festival at Riverside Studios in July 2025. It won Best Show of the Festival after three live performances. Mathur has previously appeared in Life of Pi at Wyndham's Theatre and on international tour, as well as Beyond Bollywood at London Palladium. He has also worked with Flute Theatre and recently completed a UK tour of his debut play Dial 1 for UK.

He is currently preparing to take that production to Canada, India and Dubai.

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The team behind the production

Director Leigh Toney previously worked with Mathur on Life of Pi and has built credits across West End productions including The Mirror and the Light, The Da Vinci Code UK tour and Royal Shakespeare Company productions.

She is also co-founder of theatre company The Age We Are and has received recognition through the Leverhulme Arts Scholar programme. Are You Even Indian? runs for 60 minutes with no interval and is suitable for audiences aged 10 and above. Performances will take place at The Actors Theatre in Brighton on 12 and 13 May at 6pm. Tickets are priced at £10, with concessions available at £8.