My Beautiful Laundrette

“Could anyone in their right mind call this silly little island off of Europe their home?”

Based on Hanif Kureishi’s iconic and Oscar-nominated screenplay and last brought to the stage in 2019 directed by Nikolai Foster, My Beautiful Laundrette is set in London during the Thatcher years and tells the story of young British Pakistani, Omar, who transforms his Uncle’s run-down laundrette into a thriving business. After being confronted by a fascist gang, Omar recognises school friend Johnny and uses their history to diffuse the situation. As they renovate the laundrette together, love blossoms between them.

This culture clash comedy is also a subversive work of social realism, sprinkled with magic and joy running through the rich veins of Kureishi’s writing. This bold production of Kureishi’s ground-breaking film, directed by Nicole Behan, explores cultural conflict, gender equality, class and generational strife, all presented against a funky backdrop of 80s music and culture with additional original music composed by the Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe.

My Beautiful Laundrette was developed with the support of the National Theatre’s Generate programme and is a Theatre Nation Partnership production, produced by Curve.

Show Guidance: This production contains strong language and adult themes including violence and racism.

Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes including a 20-minute interval.