The Buddha Of Suburbia

Very Seventies, very sexy and very life-affirming, The Buddha of Suburbia makes its London debut at the Barbican.

Hanif Kureishi’s 1990 book has already been turned into a TV series with music supplied by the late David Bowie but, given how the world of theatre is a core part of the story, it makes sense for a stage version to happen at some point. The author and director Emma Rice’s adaptation opened in May at Stratford-upon-Avon’s Swan Theatre and comes to the capital almost six months later laden with positive reviews. And quite rightly too, as there is plenty to admire here in its exploration of class, race, sex and the era’s political undercurrents.

Being based on a Kureishi novel, there are certain expectations. It would take a hard heart this work dull and, despite never steering away from weightier topics, the navel-gazing is usually kept to a few searing insights. The Buddha of Suburbia is an entertaining ride from beginning to end aided by a witty script, clever visuals and a narrative device which sees our protagonist Karim (Dee Ahluwalia) often break the fourth wall.

Karim, a mixed-race teenager growing up in South London is living in interesting times. While his Indian Muslim father Haroon is having an affair with their posh English neighbour Eva, he is busy exploring his sexuality with Eva’s son Charlie and Jamila, the lusty daughter of his father’s best friend. Looking for an escape route to something bigger and better, he joins the local theatre and starts on a career as an actor. He is hand-picked by a director to join his cast; the director’s curious methods and unusual ways of instilling camaraderie lead to Karim finding and losing the first love of his life.

The story occasionally veers into the barely credible - can a dildo really knock someone out? - but always keeps one foot on the floor no matter how outlandish the twists and turns are while the direction is smart and, at times, hilarious. Some aspects of the book have been ditched - some characters like the working class Welshman Terry are absent while other subplots which look at the class divides are played down - giving more space for the characters to breath in a play which runs to almost three hours (including interval). Orgasms are vividly depicted by a bunch of party poppers going off together and genitals through the use of large bananas and red grapefruit hemispheres. A split stage allows for parallel plot points to be played out.

The racial aspects of the era are never shied away from. Karim’s first stage role is as Mowgli in an amdram take on The Jungle Book. The director asks him to “brown up” through make up and wear a banana-coloured loin cloth leading to Karim complaining that he looks like “a turd in a yellow bikini”; he also asked to make his accent “more Indian”. The National Front are presented as marauding thugs who wander the streets in groups looking for non-whites to abuse and beat up. Karim raises the issue of his own racial identity, describing himself as “an Englishman born and bred. Almost.”

There is some sublime casting here which sees all of the actors apart from Ahluwalia take on multiple roles. Ewan Wardrop steals scenes effortlessly as the bizarre director Matthew Pyke, Natasha Jayetileke is sparky as the horny Jamila who is forced to marry the rotund Sherlock Holmes fan Changez (Simon Rivers), Katy Owen digs deep into the pathos of the abandoned wife Margaret when not toying with Karim’s heart as his upper crust lover Eleanor and Rina Fatania is an utter blast as both Karim’s “aunt” Jeeta and Pyke’s wife Marlene.

Piled high with memorable moments and delivered with savvy sophistication, RSC’s The Buddha Of Suburbia is sheer nirvana.

The Buddha Of Suburbia continues until 16 November.

Photo credit: Steve Tanner