New Mumbai slum play hits London stage

A new play, set in the slums of Mumbai starring British Indian actress Meera Syal in the lead, has opened in London to glowing reviews.
'Behind the Beautiful Forevers' is based on Pulitzer Prize winning journalist-author Katherine Boo's book which captures the seedy underbelly of corruption in India's fast globalising financial hub.
Boo, who is married to an Indian, spent three years living in Annawadi slum near Mumbai airport recording the lives of its residents. The title comes from advertisements on the hoardings the airport planners put up to conceal the slum from those arriving in the city.
"It's the city in which I've spent most time, for one. But I also found the Mumbai of film and book to be a slightly lopsided cosmos. I wanted to know more about the domestic lives of women and girls, about improvisational labour in a temp-job city, about the educational options available to the poor - stuff like that," said the author in reference to her choice of subject matter.

"Economic growth had brought unprecedented opportunities for the unprivileged, officially. But I longed for a fuller sense of how those on-the-books opportunities were being experienced on the ground," she added.
The stage adaptation by David Hare brings Mumbai airport alive through its clever set design and the direction by Rufus Norris recreates the city in London perfectly.
The ensemble cast includes well-known British Asians from stage and television such as Vincent Ebrahim from 'The Kumar's At No 42', Pal Aron, Shane Zaza and Thushitha Jayasundera.
The production at the National Theatre, on the banks of the river Thames, opened this week and will be on until April 2015.