Hanif Kureishi’s seminal coming-of-age and state-of-the-nation novel gets its first staging in this extravagant adaptation by Emma Rice.

The Buddha of Suburbia grandiloquently bursts onto the stage with a mix of raucous comedy and biting social insight, capturing the disorienting world of a 1970s Britain caught between nostalgia and rebellion.

The stage is almost tangible – a blend of the inside and outside that feels neither quite suburban nor urban, mirroring the story’s liminal themes. The Buddha of Suburbia charts aspiring mixed-heritage actor Karim’s (Ahluwalia) journey through the awkward spaces of big city life as he navigates belonging, race, sexuality and ambition in a Britain wrestling with its own.

Karim is charmingly naïve and fiercely witty, grounding a production that flits from youthful innocence to political satire with an ease that invites the audience along. The staging reflects the nostalgic 70s vibe through Rachana Jadhav’s creative design, peppered with Vicki Mortimer’s costume choices that evoke both disco glamour and the shaggy kitsch of the era. Musical selections from Etta James to Bill Withers lend energy to Karim’s encounters, from his love for the rebellious Charlie (a David Bowie-esque Tommy Belshaw), to his friendship with Jamila (superbly played by Jayetileke) – who herself faces the suffocating grip of tradition with unwavering autonomy, with her use of casual sex a form of resistance in the face of unbearable patriarchy. The humour – quick and layered – especially when dealing with heavier subjects like arranged marriage and racial identity, maintains the bite of the novel’s satire.

Some of the novel’s edge is sacrificed to maintain the levity: it reduces Charlie’s debauched descent to a side note; the violent racist assault on Changez (Jamila’s husband) happens upstage, dulling its impact; and Karim’s white mum (Owen) is written as overly passive, detracting from the book’s biting realism of race. However, Matthew Pyke (Wardrop), Karim’s overtly sexual and pompous theatre director, brilliantly encapsulates the condescension of 70s liberalism, revealing that, in his eyes, Karim is still just “Black” before anything else. And the Thatcher projection at the end? A stroke of genius – her hollow words of unity sharply contrast with the loving, messy community on stage.

This stage adaptation doesn’t feel as raw as it should do, but still, it’s a joyful, maybe slightly irreverent piece, that doesn’t shy from exposing Britain’s faults, all while celebrating the chaotic beauty of its people.

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