My Beautiful Laundrette to tour the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch.

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch are delighted to share the exciting news that the highly praised production of Hanif Kureishi’s My Beautiful Laundrette, produced by Leicester’s Curve, will tour to Hornchurch 28 February –  9 March 2024 as part of the Theatre Nation Partnerships initiative.

Set in London during the Thatcher years, My Beautiful Laundrette tells the story of a young British Pakistani, Omar, who transforms his uncle’s run-down laundrette into a thriving business. After being confronted by a racist gang, Omar develops a relationship with school-friend Johnny, a fascist skinhead. Against a backdrop of racial division, nationalism, rising inflation, recession and political turmoil, love blossoms between the two boys, as they set to work renovating the South London laundrette. 

My Beautiful Laundrette is based on Kureishi’s ground-breaking 1985 Oscar-nominated film of the same name and features original music composed by the Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Originally staged at Curve in 2019 under the direction of Nikolai Foster, the play garnered four-star reviews from publications including The Observer, The Sunday Express and The Daily Mail, with The Guardian opining “an iconic movie, sharply reimagined.” In addition, the production received nominations for Best New Play and Best Regional Production at the 2020 WhatsOnStageAwards. 

Full cast details are as follows:

Gordon Warnecke, who played Omar in Stephen Frear’s Oscar-nominated 1985 film of the same name, returns to the drama as Omar’s wise but world-weary Papa.

Lucca Chadwick-Patel (Millennials, The Other Palace) will play Omar, while Sam Mitchell (To Kill a Mockingbird, Gielgud Theatre) will play Omar’s fascist former school-friend, Johnny. 

The 2024 tour will see the return of Kammy Darweish(Linck & Mulhahn, Hampstead Theatre) as Omar’s enterprising Thatcherite uncle Nasser, Paddy Daly (New Blood, BBC One) as right-wing thug Genghis and Hareet Deol (Ackley Bridge, Channel 4) will reprise his WhatsOnStage Award nominated performance as Salim, Nasser’s right-hand man.

Completing the company are Emma Bown (The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Duke of York’s Theatre), playing the roles of Nasser’s lover, Rachel, and skinhead, Moose, and Sharan Phull (Pink Sari Revolution, The Importance of Being Earnest, Scrooge the Musical, all at Curve) as Nasser’s daughter, Tania. 

The tour is directed by Nicole Behan, with set and costume design by Grace Smart, lighting by Curve Associate Ben Cracknell and sound design by Tom Marshall. Casting is by Harry Blumenau.

The tour will be supported by the National Theatre, as part of the Theatre Nation Partnerships initiative – a collaborative network of arts organisations, united in their shared aim to strengthen relationships with local audiences, schools and communities.

My Beautiful Laundrette will open at Leicester’s Curvetheatre 17 to 24 February, before touring to Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch 28 February to 9 March, Theatre Royal Wakefield 11 to 14 March, The Lowry, Salford 19 to 23 March, Liverpool Playhouse 26 to 31 Marchand Blackpool Grand Theatre 2 to 6 April.

Tickets to the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch dates start from just £12.50 (plus 70p QNext fee). Under 26s £8. To book visit queens-theatre.co.uk

Stay up to date with all of our latest updates and content by following us on our social media accounts!

We have created community pages where we will share our up-to-date stories happening in the area. Add the area closest to where you live.

Support Local Journalism
We at The Havering Daily appreciate your support of quality journalism. Your generous donation, no matter the size, allows us to continue bringing unbiased and informative news to the community. Your contribution helps us maintain our independence and allows us to continue providing high-quality journalism. Thank you for valuing the work we do and for supporting our mission

Thank you