Tickets are now on sale for a new production Ayub Din Khan’s award-winning play East is East.
Opening at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton on Friday 4 September 2026, this new production will be directed by Kash Arshad. The show will then travel to Derby Theatre Tuesday 20 – Saturday 24 October 2026, as well as Citizen’s Theatre, Glasgow, before finishing its current tour at Wiltshire Creative’s Salisbury Playhouse in early November.
East is East was first staged in Birmingham in 1996 by the Tamasha Theatre Company in co-production with the Royal Court and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Ayub Khan Din’s modern classic blends razor-sharp comedy with moments of shocking honesty, in a story about identity, generational conflict, and the messy, unbreakable bonds of family.
In early 1970s Salford, the Khan family are living above a chip shop and on the fault line between two cultures. George Khan is determined to raise the family to follow his Pakistani way. His English wife, Ella, just wants to keep the peace. Meanwhile their seven children are busy discovering disco, denim, and defiance. When George begins arranging marriages for his sons, rebellion erupts and loyalties are tested. What follows is a hilarious and deeply moving battle between tradition and change.
Kash Arshad is a Scottish/Pakistani director and theatre maker based in Yorkshire and trained on the National Theatre Studio Directors Course 2019. He was Associate Director at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough from 2021 – 2023 and Trainee Artistic Director at Freedom Studios from 2017 – 2019. In 2021, his original production of 10 Nights by Shahid Iqbal Khan at the Bush Theatre was nominated for an Olivier Award in the category of Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre He is an Associate Artist of National Youth Theatre and Associate Director for National Theatre Connections. Kash is also currently Youth Theatre Director for Northern Broadsides Youth Theatre.
Ayub Khan Din grew up in Salford. After leaving school he worked briefly as a hairdresser before enrolling in drama school, where he wrote his first stage play, East is East (1997), for Tamasha Theatre Company. It was first staged at the Royal Court Theatre in London and was subsequently adapted by Ayub into a highly successful feature film. West is West, a sequel film, was released in 2010.
Both play and film have won numerous awards including EVENING STANDARD Best Film Award, the WRITERS’ GUILD Award for Best New Writer, Best West End Play and the JOHN WHITING Award for Best Stage Play.
Other plays include All the Way Home, produced at the Lowry Theatre, Salford and Rafta Rafta, an adaptation of Bill Naughton’s 1960s story All in Good Time, which was first produced at the National Theatre, London and then by the New Group in New York. Rafta Rafta won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Ayub’s screen adaptation of All in Good Time was released as a feature film. Ayub wrote The Edelweiss Pirates for the Connections Festival at the National Theatre. Recent works also include the musical play Bunty Berman Presents, which opened in New York, and To Sir, With Love, an adaptation of E.R. Braithwaite’s novel, which opened at the Royal Derngate, Northampton before a national tour. His television series Ackley Bridge, produced by The Forge, was first broadcast on Channel 4 in 2017 and ran for 5 seasons.
Kash Arshad (Director of East is East):
“East is East is my story. There are not many plays that speak to the experience of being brought up in a Muslim household, with a white British mother and a Pakistani father, who ran his own business, with kids who felt not British enough to be British nor Pakistani enough to be Pakistani. To get the opportunity to direct this play at the theatre where I started my directing journey and to be able to share it with audiences in Salisbury, Derby and the Citizens in Glasgow, my local theatre in my late teens/early twenties and where I first set foot on a professional stage, is a dream.
The play is a modern classic, with brilliantly observed, memorable characters. And at its heart a strong matriarch in Ella holding this family of misfits together – She reminds me so much of my own mum. It’s raucous, moving, full of truth and really funny.”
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More information
Accessible performance
BSL interpreted performance (A Signed performance is the usual full production with the addition of a British Sign Language Interpreter who stands on the stage interpreting the show): Thursday 22 October 2026, 19:30
About The Octagon Theatre, Bolton
The Octagon Theatre is a registered charity and a fundraising organisation, dedicated to creating inspiring theatre and delivering impactful engagement work in the community
It is a regional producing theatre that makes bold, adventurous, and popular theatre of the highest quality, seen both locally and nationally. We believe theatre matters because everyone’s story matters. The Octagon inspires, engages, and entertains thousands every year through theatre and creative activities, contributing to a healthier and happier community.
The Octagon’s Creative Engagement department plays a vital role in this mission, delivering a wide range of community programmes, workshops, and outreach initiatives that connect with people of all ages and backgrounds – including neurodiverse individuals, schools, youth groups, older adults, and those with additional needs. These programmes aim to break down barriers, celebrate creativity, and ensure everyone can take part in the arts.
The Octagon reopened in May 2021 following a major redevelopment funded by Bolton Council, Arts Council England, and many others. The theatre receives public funding through Arts Council England, Bolton Council, and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. In 2024, the Octagon won Medium Business of the Year at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Awards and was shortlisted for UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre at the UK Theatre Awards and Theatre of the Year at The Stage Awards in 2023. www.octagonbolton.co.uk
About Citizen’s Theatre, Glasgow
The Citizens Theatre is Glasgow’s major producing theatre and one of the UK’s most influential theatre companies. Celebrated internationally for its bold, groundbreaking productions, the theatre also champions pioneering participatory and community programmes. Co-led by Executive Director Kate Denby and Artistic Director Dominic Hill – hailed by the Daily Telegraph for “a talent for classical drama which is genuinely world class” – the Citizens Theatre presents bold new interpretations of classic texts alongside new writing.
Rooted firmly in the Gorbals, at the heart of Glasgow’s cultural life, the theatre combines a deep local connection with an international outlook. After an extensive redevelopment, the Citizens Theatre proudly reopened its doors on 23 August 2025, offering an exciting new chapter in its celebrated history.
About Derby Theatre
Bold and brilliant performances. Shows that represent our community. A platform for groundbreaking artists. A pathway for learners of all ages. A guaranteed great night out. We’re a theatre like no other.
We’re known for artistic excellence. We’re committed to education. And we believe that theatre can change your life.
Previously Derby Playhouse, we have a long and important theatrical history. As Derby Theatre, we work in partnership with the University of Derby. We produce new plays and projects, collaborate with artists and local people, and welcome higher education students and anyone who wants to learn.
We are a charity and a National Portfolio organisation for Arts Council England, and we’re led by artistic director and CEO Sarah Brigham.
It’s really important to us that we make everyone feel welcome. So we set out to treat everybody with respect and care. That includes audiences, artists and learners who are new to theatre or who don’t usually feel like it’s for them.
Don’t just take our word for it – come and find out for yourself.
About Wiltshire Creative
Wiltshire Creative brings people together for joyful, life-enhancing creative experiences. Based in Salisbury, it produces performances that tour nationally and internationally, bringing pride to the southwest region. Its venues – Salisbury Playhouse and Salisbury Arts Centre – deliver surprise, delight and wonder with a year-round programme of visiting and home-produced work.
Once a year, Wiltshire Creative bursts out beyond its walls to invigorate city spaces with Salisbury International Arts Festival.
Passionate about growing talent and skills development pathways, Wiltshire Creative hosts a Diploma in Performing and Production Arts, in partnership with Wiltshire College and University Centre.
Integrity, quality and openness are embedded throughout Wiltshire Creative’s work, from its professional touring productions to its community engagement programmes.
In 2024/25 Wiltshire Creative produced seven in-house productions, with two destined for international tours in 2026. Its popular pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, won ‘Best Costume Design’ at the UK Pantomime Association Awards and was nominated for ‘Best Pantomime’. Its youth theatre, Stage 65, celebrated 60 years in 2025, making it one of the oldest youth theatres in the country. Celebrations continue in 2026 with the 50th anniversary of Salisbury Playhouse.
Wiltshire Creative is funded by Arts Council England, Salisbury City Council and Wiltshire Council.