"Hello. My name is Azgi. I like hamburger, baseball and Mr
Bob Dylan. I am the first person in my entire family to fly on an
airplane! When I go to America, one day I will be very rich! And then
you can come and stay with me in my big house with my swimming pool
and Cadillac.."
So
beings Azgi's journey to pursue his American dream
or more
specifically to Sakina's Indian Restaurant in Manhattan where he
introduces us to his new boss and family. Hakim, the restaurant
owner, feels inferior to his fellow businessmen and is infuriated
by his daughter's wildcat ways. His wife, Faridda, once dreamed
of being a dancer but now makes chapati all day, muttering "this
was not supposed to by my life"!
Sakina,
the betrothed daughter, has dated her all-American boyfriend for
two months now, although her father disapproves. Finally, their
son Samir, usually glued to his Gameboy, is in a sulk because his
trip to Disney World is cancelled for a funeral in India, where
the toys are so uncool and everything stinks.
A sizzling
Broadway phenomenon, Aasif Mandvi, more recently cast as the 'Mystic
Masseur' in Ismail Merchant's adaptation of the same name, plays
Azgi and populates the stage with a tantalising array of colourful
characters with his sheer energy and versatility.
Described
as a one-man tour de force, Sakina's Restaurant is a must for Asian
theatre lovers.
Click
here to visit The
Bush Theatre website.
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