East is East is a dark comedy set in Salford, England in 1971. It centres on the Anglo-Pakistani alliance of the Khan family.

The play opens with the youngest member of the Kahn family Sajid, being pursued by his father George after a visit to the mosque. It seems that Sajid’s circumcision was inadvertently overlooked and his ‘condition’ is now causing his father great embarrassment with the mullah. As George tells Ella this must be dealt with, Sajid hides in the coal shed.

In the next scene we hear the other Khan children at the family chip shop discussing their father and the deceits that are maintained under his very nose; Saleem pretends to be studying engineering although he is at art school, Tariq uses an English name Tony when he is out of the house. Only Maneer is sympathetic towards his father. ..

We learn that George plans arranged marriages for his two eldest sons Abdul and Tariq despite the fact that this caused estrangement between him and his eldest son Nasir. The family receive a letter from the hospital telling them that Sajid can have his circumcision performed.

In Scene 4 we watch the Khan children bantering and having fun while working in the chip shop. Mum Ella and friend Annie chat about local life. George arrives home with an old barber’s chair…

Ella pushes George to be honest with Abdul and Tariq over the arranged marriages. George becomes increasingly stressed about the lack of respect he feels that his family show him.

Scene 5 is set in the hospital after Sajid’s operation. It becomes clear as he talks to the doctor that Sajid’s behaviour is quite strange…

Act Two starts with the children secretly eating sausages and bacon because their father is out. As he returns there is panic. George tries to explain to Maneer why the Muslim faith is so important to him.

Ella confides in Annie. She feels she is cowardly for not standing up to George about the marriage arrangement.

By the canal the children all hang out together. Maneer defends his father when his siblings are critical of him. Abdul and Tariq vow they will not agree to the marriages.

Against the backdrop of the India Pakistan conflict which he listens to on the radio, George becomes increasingly aggressive. He asserts his authority over his children and in frustration Ella calls him ‘pig ignorant’. The word ‘pig’ incenses him and he beats her.

Maneer and Saleem urge Tariq to talk to George about the marriages. When he refuses, Saleem tries to explain to George how the children feel. Saleem’s words hit a raw nerve and George attacks him, leaving him crying on the floor.

We see George praying, watched by Abdul. Later Abdul confesses to Tariq how he went to the pub after work but that trying to fit in, and be English distressed him so much that he wept. He tells his brother that he just wants to be part of this family. He is resigned to the arranged marriage idea.

The day of the visit by Mr Shah arrives. He is the father of the girls who George hopes will marry Tariq and Abdul. The family reluctantly prepare for his arrival, Meena has to wear traditional clothes, the children have a bath.

Mr Shah comes with pictures of his daughters, and then attempts to interview Tariq and Abdul, but George speaks for them, afraid they will let him down. Annie arrives and makes comments that leave George looking for answers from Ella.

The family’s facade is beginning to break down and Mr Shah becomes increasingly concerned about what he is experiencing in the Khan family home. He is condescending about the way they have raised their family and at last, Ella snaps. When Mr Shah insists that the boys must live at his house with him when they are married because the Khan’s home is substandard she can take no more. She banishes Mr Shah from the house and turns on George. He attacks her once again but this time the children intervene. Abdul pushes him against the wall, Sajid hits him with his parka. George seems broken and ashamed and upset he leaves.

The children discuss the future. Abdul vows things will be different. Finally, Sajid abandons his parka, emerging from it as a young man.