I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door - or I'll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.
Rabindranath Tagore
THE HOUSE OF IN BETWEEN BY SEVAN K GREENE
Theatre Royal Stratford East 2016
The place is India and the time now. Hijras are the third gender and they were once revered across Ancient Asia and Arabia. In today’s world they still follow their old ways; living in Hijra ‘communities’ where they dance, entertain and earn their living bestowing blessings on newlyweds and new-borns.
Uma is the leader of such a clan in Patna, the second largest city in eastern India. She is determined to protect her House, the Hijras who live there and celebrate the millennia-old traditions of their way of life. One day a stranger arrives in need of help and the community open their doors, and indeed their heart to help. But this act of charity leads to an explosive chain of events that no-one could imagine, leaving Uma fighting to hold her family together at any cost.
Cast: Esh Alladi, Vikash Bhai, Ashraf Ejjbair, Akash Heer, Shalini Peiris, Lucie Shorthouse, Gary Wood
Set & Costume design - Diego Pitarch
Choreography - Seeta Patel
Composer & Sound Design - Arun Ghosh
Lighting Design - James Whiteside
Video & Projection Design - Tapio Snellman
Fight Director - Lisa Connell
Assistant Director - Natasha Chandra
★★★★★ Grumpy Gay Critic
'... Thrilling and brilliantly written and produced piece of theatre... Drama, sass, and striking production, The House of In Between is a crucial and sensational show...A ravish of sight and spirit: astronomical. You MUST go’
★★★★ Boyz
'A story beautifully told with unabated passion where lies, love and life are taken by the scruff of the neck and given a firm shake'.
British Theatre Guide
‘Pooja Ghai’s lively production… an exciting mainstage debut’
Whatsonstage.com
‘Gary Wood sets the stage alight with star quality’
Whatsonstage.com
‘Seeta Patel’s spellbinding dances’
The Stage
‘Engaging’
The Morning Star
'Performances by the whole cast are engaging and charismatic and the visually arresting world that director Pooja Ghai, lighting designer James Whiteside, set and costume designer Diego Pitarch and choreographer Seeta Patel create consistently engages'