The play that gave birth to the smash-hit film - a wonderful comedy about growing up in multiracial Salford. The six Khan children; entangled in arranged marriages and bell-bottoms; are trying to find their way growing up in 1970s Salford. They are all caught between their Pakistani fathers insistence on Asian traditions; their English mothers laissez-faire attitude; and their own wish to become citizens of the modern world. First plays dont come much better than this... full of intelligence; irresistable laughter and serious promise. Sunday Times
#563393 in eBooks 2011-09-01 2011-09-01File Name: B00AKFXZL6
Review
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Comprehensive and insightfull bio; accurate conclusions I would say ...By Michael Joseph WolseyComprehensive and insightfull bio;accurate conclusions I would say.8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. DelightfulBy Martina A. NicollsNijinsky is the biography of dancer Vaslav Fomich Nijinsky (1889-1950). Born in Kiev to professional dancers; Nijinsky had an older brother; Stanislav ndash; who damaged his head in a fall at two years of age; was committed to an asylum at 16; and died at 31 in 1918 ndash; and a younger sister Bronia (1891-1972) ndash; who danced with Nijinsky for much of his life.When his father left the marriage; Nijinskyrsquo;s mother travelled to Moscow to enrol him in the prestigious Imperial Theatre School (the Mariinksy Ballet). At nine years of age he was accepted in a class of six boys and 14 girls (from an application pool of 100 boys and 200 girls). Of the five other boys; four died tragically in their twenties. Only Anatole Bourman (1888-1962); the author of The Tragedy of Nijinsky (2010); outlived them. The Imperial Theatre School was convent-like; rigid; rigorous; competitive; and cut-throat. It was a time when girls were the focus; and boys were their lsquo;liftingrsquo; partners.Even before he graduated in 1907; he danced with legendary Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) in 1906. After graduation he was dismissed from the Imperial Theatre School for wearing an indecent costume and not apologizing. Nijinksy signed a contract for 1909-10 with impressario Sergei Diaghilevrsquo;s Ballets Russes; commencing an overseas tour as lead dancer.In Paris in 1909 at the opening night of Le Pavillon drsquo;Armide; newspaper Le Figaro hailed him Dieu de la Danse ndash; The God of the Dance. In Le Pavillon drsquo;Armide; Les Sylphides; Giselle; Carnaval; and Scheherazade; he not only showed his physical strength; but his versatility ndash; and his long-held high leaps. He was explosive; exotic; virile; and intoxicating. He was a star. Off-stage he was shy; quiet; aloof; and withdrawn.If he returned to Russia he had to undertake compulsory military service. Hence; from 1910; without a passport; Nijinsky was lsquo;effectively stateless; belonging nowhere but the stage.rsquo;He continued dancing in Diaghilevrsquo;s troop. In the controversial Le Spectre de la Rose ndash; where he was literally a flower ndash; his performance was called lsquo;an extraordinary feat of strength and control.rsquo; The author suggests his greatest performance was in Petrushka as the unhappy clown in 1911. By then he was dancing mainly with Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978).In 1912 at the age of 23; he began choreographing; but the dance troop complained that they couldnrsquo;t understand what Nijinsky wanted ndash; and they were reduced to counting in rehearsals to follow a rhythm; which the dancers called lsquo;arithmetic classes.rsquo;Nijinsky choreographed original ballets; such as Lrsquo;apres-midi drsquo;un faune (The Afternoon of a Faun) ndash; so original that they were controversial; shocking even the unshockable audiences in Paris. Sensuous; sexual; radical; abstract; jagged steps; frenzied movements; unmelodic; flat-footed; straight-leg jumps; and with bodystockings and daring costumes; it was outrageous ndash; it was the lsquo;shock of the newrsquo; ndash; it was modern. It was not ballet! And the authorrsquo;s descriptions of these chapters are exceptional.In 1913 on the ship to South America for another ballet tour; Nijinsky unexpectedly proposed to Hungarian socialite; Romola de Pulszky; marrying her in Buenos Aires. He was 24 and she was 21. Subsequently Diaghilev fired him. With two children; Kyra and Tamara; during wartime; Nijinsky was unsuccessful in creating his own dance company; and hence undertook a brief seasona tour in America.Homeless; stateless; jobless; Nijinsky oscillated between rage; paranoia; and silence as his mental state deteriorated. Over 45 days in Switzerland in 1919; he penned a diary; published in 1999; that was considered lsquo;the only sustained; on-the-spot (not retrospective); written account; by a major artist; of the experience of entering psychosis.rsquo; Some colleagues suggested that his breakdown was lsquo;somehow voluntary ndash; a retreat from struggles.rsquo; With excessive medication and even shock therapy; he never regained his creative spark. He never danced again.The authorrsquo;s last chapters focus on debatable issues: Nijinskyrsquo;s mental state; his sexuality; his diary; gender roles; his genius; and the moulders (shapers) of his legacy. While there are photographs of Nijinsky in costume (including some black-and-white ones in the book) no film exists of him dancing.Described as the first full-length biography of Nijinsky for over 30 years; since Richard Bucklersquo;s Nijinsky (1971); Moore not only covers his major ballets; but also his creative processes; ideologies; challenges; controversies; reviews; and audience reactions. Moore draws on the works of his sister Bronia; his diaries; and the context of the times.It is beautifully written ndash; and in a way that captures each step; turn; lift; and leap ndash; the strength of each muscle and the tenderness of each movement. It is a fascinating account of Nijinskyrsquo;s heady leap to stardom; the rollercoaster ride of his inner demons; and the tragic descent that stilled his creative genius.