Kiln Theatre debuts White Teeth adaptation as part of new season

by LAUREN CODLING

A MUSICAL adaptation of Zadie Smith’s “messy and funny” White Teeth will debut in a north London theatre next Friday (26).

Smith’s debut novel tells the story of diverse characters – including the Iqbal twins and the rest of their extended Bangladeshi family – living on Kilburn High Road in London.

Featuring a cast of 14, with a live band on stage, the play is described as “an epic comedy with music and dance”.

Set to debut at the newly revamped Kiln Theatre in north London, the production is directed by the theatre’s artistic director, Indhu Rubasingham.

She revealed British author Smith had “generously” let the production team take charge.

“It has meant that we haven’t been nervous or trying to please her. We are simply focused on serving the book,” Rubasingham told Eastern Eye on Monday (15).

Admitting she originally read the book “ages ago”, the adaption has given her a chance to revisit the story and see it in a new light.

“I’ve discovered it afresh and in a different way,” she remarked.

The musical element was something which the team felt should be incorporated to describe the book’s “heart and warmth”.

The best way to be celebratory and bring warmth and heart is through music and songs and movement, Rubasingham said.

“Music is also a great way to engage and highlight the time period of the piece,” she added.

The story is primarily set in the era of the 1980s and early 1990s. It explores the complexities of identity and immigration, all of which Rubasingham feels is relatable to her own experiences.

Describing it as a “messy, funny and very real” story, she admits the book’s narrative feels like her own, and that of many people she knew and grew up with.

“What I particularly love about the book is that it is set in Kilburn, where the theatre is, so it feels totally relevant and completely the right place to do it,” she added.

Under her leadership, the theatre – originally called the Tricycle Theatre – was renamed the Kiln Theatre earlier this year. It re-opened in September with dark comedy Holy Sh!t marking the launch of the new season.

The name change sparked some controversy, with a public petition which collected 400 signatures calling for a reversal of the theatre’s rechristening, but Rubasingham said she feels positive abut the change.

“The direction is to be better, bolder and more ambitious,” she said. “To be a beacon on the

high street and to continue to tell stories from different worlds and perspectives that reflect the neighbourhood that we live in.”

Initially set for a career in medicine, Rubasingham’s career path changed unexpectedly when she was given a chance work experience at Nottingham Playhouse.

In 2012, she took over as artistic director of the Tricycle, and in doing so, became the first non-white woman to run a major London theatre.

During the six years Rubasingham has been in charge, the theatre has achieved three West End transfers and won an Olivier award.

Rubasingham, who was a winner at the GG2 Leadership Awards in 2016, believes more south Asians are beginning to consider creative careers instead of the typical academic fields.

“I think this is changing with the generations as the creative arts are seen as a more viable career. Also, we are seeing ourselves on stage, screen and as authors, so this becomes encouraging and visible,” she said. “There can always be more, but this is the case with many different communities – we need to be reflected and seen in the mainstream.”

White Teeth is on at the Kiln Theatre from next Friday (26) until December 22