East is East Cast
Zaki Ali – Tariq
Zaki Ali is a mixed-race actor from London. A graduate of The BRIT School and former student of the Sylvia Young Theatre School, Zaki has worked across film, television and theatre since a young age, with early screen appearances on Disney Channel. Most recently, he can be seen as Azariah in the upcoming feature film Daniel by The Kooman Brothers, alongside Mena Massoud and Elijah Alexander.
His other screen credits include The Good Ship Murder (Series 4) for Channel 5. His theatre work includes Town Planning in the Apocalypse by James Graham with National Youth Theatre and Mark and the Marked by Box Clever.
East is East marks Zaki’s major theatre debut as Tariq.
Victoria Brazier – Auntie Annie
Theatre credits include: The Book Thief (Bolton Octagon); The Memory of Water (Bolton Octagon/Liverpool Everyman); The Snow Queen, Treasure Island, Beauty and the Beast, Oliver Twist (The Dukes); Pride and Prejudice, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Jungle Book (Storyhouse/ Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre); Make Good: The Post Office Scandal (Pentabus); Miner Birds, Alice in Wonderland, The Snow Queen, The Borrowers (New Vic); We’re Not Going Back (Red Ladder); A Little Princess (Theatre By The Lake); The Song Of The Sytch (Claybody Theatre); Abigail’s Party (Watford Palace); Twinkle and the Mechanical Light Machine (Oldham Theatre Workshop); The Man Without A Past (New Perspectives); Tiny Heroes (Dan Bye); Crossings (Pentabus); The Secret Garden (York Theatre Royal); Hard Times (Northern Broadsides); Hobson’s Choice (Royal Exchange).
Television credits include: Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Vincent, All at Sea, Doctors, Craven, Land Girls, The Street, Heading Out, Hollyoaks, Boy A.
Radio credits include: Ann Veronica, The Thrill of Love, New Grub Street, Home Front, Deadheading, Sense and Sensibility, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Angel Pavement, Cottonopolis, Bell in the Ball, Writing the Century, Mr Maugham’s Journey Home, The Crowded Street, Second Chances, Germinal, Dido, The River Girl and Sophie.
Sushil Chudasama – Doctor/Mr Shah
Sushil trained at LAMDA over 25 years ago. He has appeared in Clocking Off, Blue Murder, Coronation Street, Collision, 4 O’Clock Club and Emmerdale.
Theatre credits include Partition at Leeds Playhouse and Royal Exchange as well as performing at The Library Theatre, Home Manchester, Royal Court, The Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres, Citizens Theatre, Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre, Birmingham Rep. Most recent credits also include Sushil appearing in Number One Fan for C5 and A Teaspoon of Shampoo at Theatre in the Mill, Bradford.
Sushil is also a theatre director, drama facilitator and drama coach.
Maya Dhokia – Meenah
Theatre credits include: Maria in Twelfth Night (Dukes Lancaster/Hope Mill Theatre/Civic Heywood/Lawrence Batley Theatre); Carly in Unit H6 for Vignettes (HER Productions); Arbah/Karen/Precious in Life in a Northern Town (Northern Broadsides – Workshop); Mowgli in The Jungle Book (Theatre by the Lake); Amy in Surety of Numbers – Remix (Box of Tricks).
TV & Film credits include: Isla in Gorgon (TownKid Productions).
Zoe Iqbal – Off-stage female swing
Zoe is a writer/performer from Manchester.
Zoe has just been under study and onstage swing for Planet Omar which went up at The Unicorn Theatre, Leeds Playhouse and Birmingham Rep. Further credits include playing ‘Aunti Ji’ The evil queen in the Muslim Pantos production of Snow Brown, Louise in Road at Oldham Coliseum. She has also appeared in Odd Squad, So Awkward and The Dumping Ground on CBBC.
She has been commissioned to write her first short film by Rope Ladder fiction. Zoe enjoys gardening and browsing charity shops
Danyal Ismail – Abdul
Danyal trained at the Drama Centre London and can currently be seen in VIRDEE (BBC), Ridley (ITV) and in a featured role opposite Saoirse Ronan in The Outrun (Arcade Pictures/Brock Media).
Further credits include: All the Lights are Still Burning (BFI), McDonald and Dodds and Vera (ITV).
Matthew Khan – Saleem
Matthew trained on the BA Acting course at LIPA, graduating in 2020. He recently played series regular Jared Jones in Waterloo Road (BBC).
Further screen credits include: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (Netflix/BBC), Brassic (Sky), and Doctors (BBC).
Stage credits include: Hamlet (Stafford Gatehouse); Mojo (Red Brick Theatre); Long Strong Hair (Bolton Octagon); The Last Quiz Night on Earth, Priestess (Box of Tricks).
Radio credits include: Undercover: Make It Count (BBC Radio 4).
One of Matthew’s first auditions out of drama school was for East is East, for the role of Sajit. Now looking (a fair bit!) older, he’s excited to bring all the fun and sensitivity of Saleem to life and to help create this brilliant ensemble play.
Rohan Macleod – Sajit
Rohan is a Bolton born actor with experience across stage and screen.
His television credits include: Coronation Street (ITV) and The Listeners (BBC).
Rohan previously appeared in East is East at the Octagon Bolton in 2018 and is excited to be returning to this incredible play.
Bhasker Patel – George
Theatre credits include: The Comedy of Errors (Octagon Theatre Bolton); Oedipus (Wyndham’s Theatre in the West End & Studio 54 on Broadway, New York); Camdenwalla (Camden People’s Theatre); A Map of the World, Nation, The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Tartuffe, Wicked Yaar, The Magic Carpet, Playing with Fire, No Zealot Like a Convert and Hebron (Royal National Theatre); The Vote, Silence (Donmar Warehouse, Tara Theatre & National Tour); Antony and Cleopatra (Liverpool Playhouse); Blood, The Great Celestial Cow…
Samantha Power – Ella
Samantha trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Theatre Credits include: No Pay? No Way!, Wuthering Heights, Zack (Royal Exchange Theatre); Rock, Paper, Scissors, Chicken Soup (Sheffield Crucible); Beryl, Accrington Pals, Coming Around Again, Me, as a Penguin, It’s A lovely Day Tomorrow (Leeds Playhouse); Flint Street Nativity (Liverpool Playhouse); Little Malcolm and his Struggle Against the Eunuchs (Bolton Octagon); It’s a fine Bright Day Today (Oldham Coliseum); Little Britain Live (Hammersmith Apollo, UK and Australian Tour).
TV credits include: Berlin Noir, Murder Is Benidorm, Good Ship Murder, Madame Blanc, Emmerdale, Bank of Dave 2, Brassic, Shakespeare & Hathaway, Whitstable Pearl, Ackley Bridge, Cold Call, Ordinary Lies, Coronation Street, Little Britain, Little Britain Abroad, A Broken Family Together, Come Fly With Me, Shameless, The Cup, Lunch Monkeys, Massive, Wolfblood, Wolfblood Secrets, All at Sea, Doctors, The 4 O’Clock Club, Holby City, Prisoner’s Wives, The Mimic, In With The Flynn’s, Starlings, Waterloo Road, Crime Stories, Moving On, Twisted Tales, New Street Law, The Royal, The Safe House, Where the Heart Is, Heartbeat, City Central, The Cops, Peak Practice, A Prince Among Men, Mash and Peas, No Bananas, It’s Adam and Shelly,
Film credits include The Lowdown, Mischief Night and short film Clutter.
Radio includes Little Britain, Little Brexit, Charlotte Bronte in Babylon, Porcelain: The Murder Trial of Sophie Lancaster, The Odd Job.
Joeravar Sangha – Maneer
Wolverhampton born actor, Joeravar Sangha graduated from St Mary’s University, Twickenham in 2016. Upon graduating he has worked across Film and TV.
His theatre credits include: Billionaire Boy (Birmingham Stage Company); East is East (National Theatre); Richard the III, All’s Well That Ends Well (Royal Shakespeare Company),
TV credits include: Doctors (BBC) and Professor T (ITV).
He has also recently been commissioned to write a large scale South Asian play by the National Theatre of Scotland.
Rahul Sidhu – Off-stage male swing
Rahul is an actor/singer whose credits include The Buckingham Murders (Netflix), BAFTA winning How To Be a Person (Channel 4), Hotel by Jim Cartwright, a number of commercials and more.