LYRIC HAMMERSMITH THEATRE & BIRMINGHAM REP’S CO-PRODUCTION OF MARRIAGE MATERIAL

Peter Anderson
June 21, 2025

The Bains’ corner shop in Wolverhampton has been at the centre of the family for three generations.

Against the backdrop of a changing 20th century, Mrs Bains is balancing running the business, caring for her ailing husband and the demands of her two headstrong daughters, who each have their eye on a different kind of future.

Fast forward to the present day, a family tragedy pulls Arjan Bains back from a life in London. The shop represents everything he was trying to escape, but with his mother insisting it remain open, how long can he stay away?

Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and Birmingham Rep’s co-production of Marriage Material transfers to Birmingham Rep from 25th June – 5th. July. Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti (A Kind of People) adapts best-selling author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera’s (The Boy with the Topknot) critically acclaimed novel Marriage Material for the stage, directed by Iqbal Khan (East is East).

Iqbal Khan is the Associate Director of Birmingham Rep, an Associate Artist of Box Clever Theatre Company, and the Artistic Director of the 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony. He has worked extensively with the RSC, as well as directing for opera and classical music events. Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s first play Behsharam broke box office records at Soho/Birmingham Rep. Her second play Behzti was sensationally closed after protests and won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

Casting for the production includes Tommy Belshaw as Jim/Bill, Jaz Singh Deol as Mr Bains/Arjan, Anoushka Deshmukh as Surinder, Celeste Dodwell as Claire/Miss Flanagan, Avita Jay as Mrs Bains, Kiran Landa as Kamaljit, Omar Malik as Ranjit/Tanvir, Irfan Shamji as Dhanda. Casting by Jatinder Chera. The full creative team includes Good Teeth – Set and Costume Designer, Simeon Miller – Lighting Designer, Holly Khan – Composer and Sound Designer, Anjali Mehra – Movement Director, Anna Wood – Associate Sound Designer, Rakhee Sharma – Associate Movement Director, Gurkiran Kaur – Voice and Dialect Coach and Harper K Hefferon – Assistant Director.