“Women come, women go. We pamper them, preen them, make them beautiful. Make small talk. Never know what’s really under their skin.”

★★★★ ‘A poignant look at the human need to fit in… a triumph’ WhatsOnStage
★★★★ ‘Very much speaks to our times…the all-female cast is superb, brimming with energy throughout’ The Understudy
★★★★ ‘One of the year’s finest plays… Humour and deep emotion blend seamlessly in a comedy-drama that is wonderfully staged in an intimate setting’ Eastern Eye
‘Relentlessly honest, it peels back hidden layers of what it means to be Asian and female in modern Britain… demands attention’ The Stage
‘Breathtaking… The cast is uniformly excellent’ The Arts Desk
‘The acting is first rate… it goes without saying that more such productions will be welcome’ Broadway World

Lotus Beauty follows the intertwined lives of five multigenerational women, inviting us into Reita’s salon where clients can wax lyrical about their day’s tiny successes or have their struggles massaged, plucked or tweezed away. But with honest truths and sharp-witted barbs high among the treatments on offer, will the power of community be enough to raise the spirits of everyone who passes through the salon doors?

Over a decade ago, Satinder Chohan‘s Crossing The Line played at Hampstead as one of the theatre’s young company productions. Since then, her credits have included Zameen (Kali Theatre), Kabaddi Kabaddi Kabaddi (Pursued By A Bear/Kali Theatre), Half of Me and Made in India (Tamasha).

Artistic Director of Tamasha, Pooja Ghai directs her first production at Hampstead. A former Associate of Theatre Royal Stratford East, previous credits include Lions and Tigers (Globe Theatre), Approaching Empty (Tamasha, Kiln Theatre, Live Theatre), Rapunzel, Counting Stars and The House of in Between (all Stratford East).

The cast features Anshula Bain (Tartuffe, Birmingham Rep; (This Isn’t) A True Story, Almeida Theatre); Souad Faress (The Archers, BBC; Game of Thrones, HBO), Zainab Hasan (The Welkin, National Theatre; Shakespeare Trilogy, Donmar Warehouse), Ulrika Krishnamurti (Pink Sari Revolution, Curve Theatre/Belgrade Theatre/West Yorkshire Playhouse; Made in India, Tamasha Theatre Company) and Kiran Landa (Line of Duty, BBC; Extinct, Theatre Royal Stratford East).

Lotus Beauty is presented by Hampstead Downstairs/Celia Atkin, in association with Tamasha Theatre Company.