Mandeep Dhillon and Jalleh Alizadeh will take leading roles in the stage première of Meera Syal’s Anita And Me
Adapted for the stage by Tanika Gupta and directed by Birmingham REP’s artistic director Roxana Silbert, Anita And Me is a “warm and touching coming-of-age tale” that follows Meena (Mandeep Dhillon), the rebellious teenage daughter of the only Punjabi family in the mining village of Tollington. When she becomes friends with the impossibly feisty Anita (Jalleh Alizadeh), she thinks she has found her soul mate but her world is turned upside down as she finds herself caught between two cultures.
Mandeep Dhillon is known for her roles as Saz in the BBC3 series Some Girls and Dacia in the CBBC series Wolf Blood. She can also be seen in one of BBC iPlayer’s first original drama shorts, My Jihad. In 2011 she appeared in Little Platoons by Steve Waters at the Bush Theatre, London.
Birmingham actress Jalleh Alizadeh has appeared on screen in the ITV comedy drama Benidorm and the BBC dramas Doctors and Hustle.
Ayesha Dharker and Ameet Chana play Meena’s parents Daljit and Shyam.
Ayesha Dharker played Meena’s mother in the film Anita And Me. She is currently appearing in Othello at the RSC in Stratford and her other theatre credits include the West End and Broadway musical Bombay Dreams, The Ramayana at Birmingham REP and Arabian Nights at the RSC.
Ameet Chana was a regular in EastEnders and is currently appearing in the BBC drama My Jihad. On stage he played Nav in Happy Birthday Sunita at Watford Palace Theatre in 2014 and was in The Djinns of Eidgah by Abhishek Majumdar at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in 2013.
The cast of Anita And Me also includes Amy Booth-Steel (Mrs Ormerod), Janice Connolly (Mrs Worrall), Joseph Drake (Sam), Kiren Jogi (Aunty Shaila), Megan McCormick (Tracey), Tarek Merchant (Ned), Chris Nayak (Uncle Amman) and Yasmin Wilde (Nanima).
The set will be designed by Bob Bailey with lighting design by Chahine Yavroyan. Ben and Max Ringham will compose and design the sound, and movement direction will be by Ann Yee.
Anita And Me runs at Birmingham REP from 9 until 24 October (press night Tuesday 13 October). The production then transfers to Theatre Royal Stratford East from 29 October until 21 November.