Marriage Material

Marriage Material description

“In our shops we will be Kings of England. And we will make this place our place.” But what happens when some family members are not as keen as others to see their three-generation business survive? Marriage Material takes a deep-dive into the tragedy that strikes the Bains family.

About the book that inspired the play

Sathnam Sanghera's debut novel, Marriage Material, is a beautiful exploration of the life of an immigrant family in the UK, layering a contemporary story of a young man trapped between British and Punjabi culture, his family's background, and the new life he loves.

It goes like this. The Bains’ corner shop in Wolverhampton has been at the centre of the family for three generations. It's 1969 and Mrs Bains is running the business as well as caring for her sick husband and battling the demands of her determined daughters, each imagining a very different future. In the 2020s tragedy strikes and young Arjan Bains is forced to return home from London, to the business he fought so hard to escape. His mum wants to keep the shop going, but can he bear to stay?

The creative talent

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti (A Kind of People) has adapted Sathnam Sanghera's critically acclaimed novel to create this sweeping family story directed by Iqbal Khan (East Is East). If you love Sanghera's novels Empireland, The Boy With the Topknot and Empireworld, you'll adore this powerful play.

Playing at Lyric Hammersmith (venue info)