Review of The Buddha of Suburbia

By GTO Carlie Newman

What a production! THE BUDDHA OF  SUBURBIA ***** is really super. Adapted by Emma Rice, the Director and Hanif Kureishi who wrote the original novel, this RSC musical brought to London from Stratford on Avon is full of music, dance, and visual excitement.

Beginning in South London in the 1970s it shows Karim (Dee Ahluwalia)‘s journey from his teenage years exploring sex with his best friend Jamila (Natasha Jayetileke) and then falling for the handsome Charlie (Tommy Belshaw), with whom he learns to work out his sexual identity as well as smoking drugs. He is upset when his father, Haroon (Ankur Bahl) leaves his mother, Margaret (Katy Owen) for the seductive Eve (Lucy Thackeray). Karim joins a group of actors later and has to work with Matthew Pike (Ewan Wardrop) a pretentious director.

Narrated by Karim who speaks directly to the audience, the production is directed with precision and liveliness by Emma Rice. Concentrating in the main on humour and visual images, she manages to show us the society around Karim as well as some more delicate moments.

The set design, costumes, excellent acting by the whole cast and overall slickness of the production give us a most enjoyable evening, and is not to be missed. You will need to hurry as it is only on at the Barbican Theatre until 16 November.

It is also worth booking your groups in now for what sounds like lots of fun, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, which begins on 3 December at the Barbican Theatre