Theatre in the West End is usually performed by and watched by middle class, middle- age, white people and often centres around male characters. How refreshing, therefore, to see two productions in 3 days which bucks that trend. This modern classic about a northern, white woman living in a Pakistani family in Salford 1971 is brought to life by Tom Scott's fantastic designs. The comedy is brilliantly executed by the cast, with the divide between western culture and Pakistani culture provides lots of humour, with sausages and the female anatomy providing the biggest laughs of the evening. However, the character development is so strong that, when the dark events occur in the second half, it is more disturbing than anything that happened in Jamie Lloyd's Richard III. I have found Jane Horrocks annoying in the past, with a slightly wingey accent but in this, she is astonishingly good. The children also are great, showing the split of east and west nicely, with impressive performances from both the inexperienced and experienced actors, one of which (Amit Shah) is particularly recognizable from such shows as Bluestone 42 and Fresh Meat. After a rather dissapointing first production in this revolutionary season, this piece puts Trafalgar Transformed solidly back on track.
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