Strictly Balti

Sid is as English as fish and chips. Saikat gets poetry books in Bengali for Christmas. Except, they’re both really the same boy. Second-generation Bangladeshi English, caught between being Sid at school and Saikat at home; between the black and white exterior of his mock-Tudor home, and the saris and patterned wallpaper within. Caught between parents who want him to be tied to his Bangladeshi roots, and parents who want him to be a good English boy, taking ballroom dance classes – as all English boys do.

Sally Cookson directs Saikat Ahamed with a gentle hand in this highly personal autobiographical show about growing up. We follow Saikat through school in Birmingham and travelling with his parents on trips back to Bangladesh, as he tries to figure out who he is, where he comes from, and where he belongs.

Strictly Balti is simply staged: just Ahamed, wooden boxes and a disco ball. The story, though touching on complex issues, is told simply to appeal to children as well as adults. Because of this, the work rests entirely on Ahamed’s performance. He lovingly takes on the roles of the other people in his life: his parents, the nuns at his primary school, his ballroom teacher. When he’s playing himself and looking back over his youth, Ahamed affably communicates directly with the audience, quickly and easily building up a friendly relationship.

Strictly Balti is a sweet show about growing up, and figuring out who you are.