For your delight and delectation, a short promo video for Meet the Mukherjees. Despite what I said here about there being male nudity in the production we have kept it clean for the film so it is suitable viewing for all! If you are disappointed about this then all I can say is book a ticket - you won't be sorry.....
Showing posts with label Meet the Mukherjees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meet the Mukherjees. Show all posts
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Meet the Mukherjees - What's Being Said....
[An] intelligent comedy that raises plenty of issues to keep you thinking while keeping you laughing. BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE.
We've had some reviews in for Meet the Mukherjees. You can read the full review from the British Theatre Guide here, The Bolton News review here and also what Manchester Evening News has to say here. Clitheroe Advertiser have also reviewed the show. Here's what they have to say:
We've had some reviews in for Meet the Mukherjees. You can read the full review from the British Theatre Guide here, The Bolton News review here and also what Manchester Evening News has to say here. Clitheroe Advertiser have also reviewed the show. Here's what they have to say:
Mark Babych’s production of Tanika Gupta’s new play, Meet the Mukherjees, at the Octagon, Bolton, is a must-see gem. She has managed to take a fraught subject like racism and make it hilariously funny without ever letting us lose sight of the underlying seriousness.
Thirty-year-old Hindu, Anita, (Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi) is a successful solicitor, sharing a flat with friend Fran (Keeley Forsyth) but her widowed mother Chitra (Pooja Ghai) is desperate to see her married. Then Afro-Caribbean Aaron, (Mark Springer) falls head over heels for her. She is suspicious as he has a reputation as a commitment-phobic philanderer. The course of their complicated relationship forms one strand of the plot.
However, everything is made much much worse by the prejudices of their relatives, Chitra, and her bigoted brother-in-law, Raj, (Nicholas Khan) and Aaron’s parents Leticia (Anni Domingo) and Neville (Wyllie Longmore) plus India (Ayesha Gwilt) Aaron’s teenage daughter by an English woman. Only the spirit of Anita’s father Montu (Nicholas Khan) seems to want the couple to be happy. The elders throw every kind of insult in the way.
How can this be funny, one might ask? But it is. Gupta mocks the shallow prejudices. She gives a clever twist to the elements of farce, with a particularly funny take on the man in the wardrobe. Her dialogue is witty and her characters are lively and, each in their own way, sympathetic, apart from the revolting Uncle Raj. Pooja Ghai is endearing, struggling to cope with loss and modern morals. Anni Domingo has a range of comically outraged facial expressions as she tries to control her wayward but ultimately compassionate husband, Neville. Wyllie Longmore veteran of so many excellent North West productions revels in the opportunities for comedy as the roguish father, fond of a drink but the most understanding of them all.
The Octagon should be justly proud of their ground-breaking 40th Anniversary season that continues to attract such a diverse audience.
UPDATE: And a lovely review here from UK Theatre Net. 'It's a real treat to have the first chance to to catch this excellent comedy, definitely one of the best new plays I have seen in the north-west'. And The Stage have also been very complimentary here 'A remarkable comedy making serious points about the moral relativism that divides and unites the races, it may well become a classic'.
You can also read more about the author, Tanika, here and here's an interview with Pooja who plays Chitra in the production. See her in the centre of the image above.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Meet the Mukherjees
I am delighted to introduce you to the delightful Mukherjees and the Jackson family the stars of our current production! You can see images from the production below. Thanks to Mr Tilton for once again delivering the goods. The photos are as vibrant as the production itself - thanks in large part to the impact of the set designed by Patrick Connellan. Reviews will be posted in due course!
Friday, 11 April 2008
Meet the Mukherjees - Casting News
Meet the Mukherjees is a witty and exhilarating new romantic comedy, which proves that love may conquer all but your in-laws!
‘You have met a boy – yes? Your mother found him naked in your wardrobe.’
The Octagon Theatre continues its 40th Anniversary Season by presenting the World Premiere of Meet the Mukherjees by Tanika Gupta, the multi-award winning playwright whose work has been staged on radio, television, and throughout the UK.
Mark Babych, the Octagon’s Artistic Director comments: “I’m delighted that we are presenting the fourth world premiere of our 40th anniversary season. It’s a treat to work on new plays and I’ve enjoyed developing the play with Tanika. There is a real sense of fun and purpose about the writing, great characters, an interesting subject matter and a vibrant and confident theatricality that will delight our audience.”
At thirty, Anita is a successful solicitor living with her friend in a flat and enjoying her life as a single woman. She is under pressure from her mother to get married who thinks her daughter is past her sell by date.
When they meet for the first time Aaron falls head over heels for her but Anita isn’t interested in him due to his reputation as a ladies-man. However, Aaron is persistent and the couple fall for each other. As their relationship deepens they begin to plan a future together; But Anita and Aaron have to face reality and introduce their parents to each other. Facing opposition to their union, will the couple survive the test?
The cast includes Wyllie Longmore, a patron of the Octagon’s 40th Anniversary Season, who was nominated for an MEN Theatre Award, 2005, as Best Actor in a Leading Role in I Just Stopped By To See The Man, Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi and Pooja Ghai, who both appeared in Rafta, Rafta in the recent National Theatre tour. Ayesha Gwilt, Anni Domingo, Mark Springer, Keeley Forsyth and Nicholas Khan complete the cast.
Tanika Gupta’s work has been staged extensively for theatre, radio and television. For television she has written for EastEnders, Grange Hill, Flight, A Suitable Boy, Crossroads, The Bill, London Bridge and All About Me. She has won many awards, and has been nominated for Olivier and EMMA Awards, and was the winner of The John Whiting Award for Best New Play for The Waiting Room.
‘You have met a boy – yes? Your mother found him naked in your wardrobe.’
‘You heard about that?’
‘Every last detail; down to the boy’s birth mark.’
The Octagon Theatre continues its 40th Anniversary Season by presenting the World Premiere of Meet the Mukherjees by Tanika Gupta, the multi-award winning playwright whose work has been staged on radio, television, and throughout the UK.
Mark Babych, the Octagon’s Artistic Director comments: “I’m delighted that we are presenting the fourth world premiere of our 40th anniversary season. It’s a treat to work on new plays and I’ve enjoyed developing the play with Tanika. There is a real sense of fun and purpose about the writing, great characters, an interesting subject matter and a vibrant and confident theatricality that will delight our audience.”
At thirty, Anita is a successful solicitor living with her friend in a flat and enjoying her life as a single woman. She is under pressure from her mother to get married who thinks her daughter is past her sell by date.
When they meet for the first time Aaron falls head over heels for her but Anita isn’t interested in him due to his reputation as a ladies-man. However, Aaron is persistent and the couple fall for each other. As their relationship deepens they begin to plan a future together; But Anita and Aaron have to face reality and introduce their parents to each other. Facing opposition to their union, will the couple survive the test?
The cast includes Wyllie Longmore, a patron of the Octagon’s 40th Anniversary Season, who was nominated for an MEN Theatre Award, 2005, as Best Actor in a Leading Role in I Just Stopped By To See The Man, Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi and Pooja Ghai, who both appeared in Rafta, Rafta in the recent National Theatre tour. Ayesha Gwilt, Anni Domingo, Mark Springer, Keeley Forsyth and Nicholas Khan complete the cast.
Tanika Gupta’s work has been staged extensively for theatre, radio and television. For television she has written for EastEnders, Grange Hill, Flight, A Suitable Boy, Crossroads, The Bill, London Bridge and All About Me. She has won many awards, and has been nominated for Olivier and EMMA Awards, and was the winner of The John Whiting Award for Best New Play for The Waiting Room.
Monday, 31 March 2008
IMPORTANT INFORMATION - Meet the Mukherjees
Please be advised that Meet the Mukherjees has been re-classified as suitable for ages 15 and over. You should also be warned that the production contains occasional strong language, will feature smoking on stage and some male nudity. Yup, a real-life naked man, well I never!
UPDATE: Despite featuring on our leaflets and posters, I also have to tell you that Shiv Grewall (from BBC Radio's Silver Street) will no longer be appearing in this production, so apologies if you are a Shiv fan. Full cast details will be published in due course.
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