An Adventure

by Vinay Patel
A Bush Theatre production
World Premiere
Vinay Patel’s recent BBC drama Murdered by My Father was one of the smash-hits of 2016. Having broken onto the scene with the critically acclaimed True Brits, An Adventure will be his biggest and boldest play yet. A drama of unprecedented scope and heart, spanning seven decades and three continents, inspired by the experiences of his immigrant grandparents.

A borrowed suit. A half-remembered film. A life of homecomings.

“I’m not much now, I know, but I will be. So pick me Jyoti and I swear I will make us the greatest adventure you ever have.”

On a stormy night in 1954, a woman doomed to marry one of five men discovers the wildcard choice might just be the person she’d been hoping for all along. An Adventure follows headstrong Jyoti and her fumbling suitor Rasik as they ride the crest of the fall of Empire from the shores of post-Partition India to the forests of Mau Mau Kenya onto the industrial upheaval of 1970s London and the present day.

But what happens when youthful ambitions crash hard against reality? When you look back at the story of your time together, can you bear to ask yourself: Was it all worth it?

Witty, charming and full of fearless historical insight, An Adventure is an epic, technicolour love story from one of the country’s most promising young writers about the people who journeyed to British shores in hope and shaped the country we live in today.

This world premiere will be directed by Bush Artistic Director, Madani Younis (The Royale, Leave Taking).

“instantly engaging”
Evening Standard ★★★★
Time Out ★★★★
The Times ★★★★
The Stage ★★★★
An Adventure has been made possible by a lead gift from Charles Holloway. The production is also generously supported by the Peter Wolff Theatre Trust, Cockayne – Grants for the Arts and the London Community Foundation and the Bush Theatre’s Production Syndicate.
This is a past event
"tender, lyrical study of migration and upheaval"
The Stage
"Bracingly unsentimental epic drama"
Time Out
"Always entertaining — and often hilarious”
The Times
"Ambitious romance which shows Vinay Patel's gift for creating complex character”
Evening Standard
"Flushed with youthful lust and optimism”
WhatsOnStage
“Madani Younis' production is a beautiful reminder of the importance of family, and the values we place upon it”
Broadway World UK
“An Adventure is worth the time for the tenderness it displays for its characters”
Culture Whisper

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Associate Director
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Costume Supervisor
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Director
Designer
Playwright

Cast

Nila Aalia
Nila Aalia is playing Older Jyoti. Nila has most recently been filming A Discovery Of Witches - All Souls Trilogy (Bad Wolf Ltd) as well as Jaume Collet-Serra’s action-thriller The Commuter. Nila’s previous theatre work includes: Bombay Dreams (RUG), Elder Latimer is In Love (Arcola Theatre), Instant Celebrity (Silver Star Productions), Ramayana (Sita Theatre), Mahabharata (Gita Productions) Vagina Monologues (I.W.D), Frau Aus Ton, Ogboimba, Zweite Wirklichkeit (PAZ Munich), Schwanensee Müllkippe (B.W. Gung, Ulm) Waiting for Godot, Antigone (Eldred Theatre,Cl.USA). Other film credits include: A Good Year (Stripe Productions), Diverted (Big Tree Productions), No Place Like Home (Mary Nighy). Television includes : Wolfblood (CBBC), The Rebel (Retort),  The Intern (Boundless), Scott & Bailey (ITV), Silent Witness (BCC), Whitechapel (Carnival Films), Hollyoaks (Lime Pictures),  Outnumbered (Hat Trick), Bike Squad (Hat Trick), 5 Days (BBC/HBO), A Touch Of Frost (ITV),  Torchwood (BBC), Casualty (BBC), Doctors (BBC), Eastenders (BBC), Life isn't all Ha Ha He He (BBC/Hat Trick), Taggart (ITV1/SMG TV), If Drugs Were Legal (BBC), Spooks (BBC/Kudos).
Aysha Kala Headshot
Aysha Kala

Aysha Kala is playing Joy/Sonal. Her previous theatre work includes Obsession at the Barbican, Frogman at Shoreditch Town Hall, Punk Play and Farragut North at Southwark Playhouse, Djinns of Eidgah at the Royal Court, Khadija is 18 at the Finborough Theatre and Much Ado About Nothing for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Aysha has also appeared in two series of Indian Summers for Channel 4; Vicious and Shameless. Her film work includes Second Coming and Jadoo. Aysha was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit of 2015. Aysha trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Shubham Saraf Headshot
Shubham Saraf
Shubham Saraf is playing Rasik. Previous theatre includes Hamlet (Globe Theatre), As You Like It (Globe Theatre), and Lions and Tigers (Globe Theatre). Television includes The Bodyguard (BBC) and Fresh Meat (Channel 4). Film credits include Overlord, The Cut and Honour. Shubham trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Selva Rasalingham Headshot
Selva Rasalingam
Selva Rasalingam plays older Rasik. Previous theatre includes The Captive Queen (Sam Wanamaker, Shakespeare's Globe), Disgraced (English Theatre Frankfurt), The Riots (Tricycle), Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom (Tricycle, New Ambassadors), Midnight's Children (RSC), On the Record (Arcola), The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes (Arcola). Television includes Versailles, Eastenders, Silent Witness, The Missing, Hustle, Casualty, Luther, Doctor Who, Spooks (BBC); Run (Ch.4); Strike Back, Legends, The Borgias (Sky). Film includes Damascus Cover, The Mummy, Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Prince of Persia, The Veteran, Risen.
Anjana Vasan Headshot
Anjana Vasan
Anjana Vasan plays Jyoti. Previous theatre includes Summer and Smoke (Almeida) King LearA Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare's Globe); Life of Galileo (Young Vic); Image of an Unknown Young Woman (Gate Theatre); DaraBehind The Beautiful Forevers(National Theatre); Macbeth (Park Armory New York/Manchester International Festival); The Taming of the Shrew; Much Ado About Nothing (RSC); The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning (National Theatre Wales). Television includes Brexit; Pls Like; Hang UpsIll BehaviourBlack MirrorCall the MidwifeFresh Meat.
Martins Imhangbe
Martins Imhangbe plays David. He has previously appeared in the Bush Theatre production of The Royale. Previous theatre includes Absolute Hell (National Theatre), Barbershop Chronicles (National Theatre), Luce (Southwark Playhouse), Octagon (Arcola Theatre), The Skriker (The Royal Exchange Theatre)Lionboy (Complicite) , Das Ding (New Diorama)Romeo and Juliet (Orange Tree Theatre), Cinderella: A Fairytale (Unicorn Theatre),  A Human Being Died That Night (Hampstead Theatre)Sold at the Edinburgh Fringe, which won the Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award, and What Does it Take. Martins trained at Central School of Speech and Drama.

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