Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys join the production team for the upcoming stage adaptation of Hanif Kureishi’s My Beautiful Laundrette, creating music to bring the 80s-set drama to life.
Tennant and Lowe have composed the original music for the play, which opens at Curve in Leicester on September 20.
Aside from their hugely successful pop career, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are also known for their theatre music, including the original stage musical Closer to Heaven, which has just returned to Above The Stag in London. Also this summer at the Edinburgh Fringe, Pet Shop Boys will present the world premiere of MUSIK, a new cabaret show with a script by Jonathan Harvey.
Speaking about composing music for My Beautiful Laundrette, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe said:
“It’s wonderful to be part of the team bringing My Beautiful Laundrette from the screen to the stage and we’ve enjoyed writing mainly instrumental music to be presented within a British Asian context.”
Set in London during the Thatcher years, My Beautiful Laundrette tells the story of young British Pakistani, Omar, who transforms his Uncle’s run-down launderette into a thriving business. After being confronted by a fascist gang, Omar recognises school-friend Johnny and uses their history to diffuse the situation. As they renovate the laundrette together, love blossoms between them. This culture clash comedy is also a subversive work of social realism, sprinkled with magic and joy running through the rich veins of Kureishi’s writing. Filmmaker Stephen Frears transferred the story to the big screen in 1985 when he directed a movie of the same name.
Playing the role of Omar in this new play is Omar Malik (East is East, Nottingham Playhouse); Jonny Fines (An Officer and a Gentleman at Curve) will play rebellious punk Johnny. Gordon Warnecke, who originally played Omar in Stephen Frears’ 1985 film, joins this new cast as Papa, Omar’s Father.
The cast is completed by Paddy Daly, Kammy Darweish, Hareet Deol, Nicole Jebeli, Balvinder Sopal and Cathy Tyson.
My Beautiful Laundrette runs at Curve 20 Sep – 5 Oct. The show will then tour to Everyman Theatre Cheltenham (8 – 12 Oct), Leeds Playhouse (15 – 26 Oct), Belgrade Theatre Coventry (29 Oct – 2 Nov) and Birmingham Repertory Theatre (5 – 9 Nov).
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