Nearly 50 years after its premiere, Steven Berkoff’s East still has the power to provoke. What was once notorious for its profanity and sexual explicitness now shocks for entirely different reasons. In 2026, it is the casual misogyny, blatant racism and everyday homophobia that land with the greatest force, exposing attitudes that have aged badly while prompting uncomfortable reflection on how much has – and hasn’t – changed.
If Shakespeare met Shameless, the result would look much like East. Berkoff fuses muscular, poetic verse with the grit of London’s East End, creating a theatrical language that is exhilarating one moment and exhausting the next. Performed in the intimate surroundings of The Kings Arms as part of the Greater Manchester Fringe, Stir Crazy Productions fully embraces the play’s relentless physicality, stylised movement and larger-than-life characters. Director Alan Pattison leans into Berkoff’s expressionistic style, using the venue’s closeness to the audience to heighten both the comedy and the underlying menace.
The ensemble throws itself fearlessly into Berkoff’s demanding theatrical vocabulary. Alex Lafferty brings swagger and vulnerability to Mike, while David Degiorgio is an energetic foil as Les, sustaining the play’s demanding physicality despite the sweltering auditorium. Lisa Brandreth gives Sylv warmth and resilience, grounding the production emotionally amid the relentless bravado of the male characters. Andrew Marsden finds both humour and pathos beneath Mum’s weary exterior, particularly during the wonderfully observed cinema sequence, while Steve Connolly commands attention as Dad, delivering a performance of quiet authority that steadily builds towards the evening’s emotional high point.
His lengthy monologue, nostalgically recalling the days of Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts and yearning for a mythical past that never truly existed, is one of the production’s defining moments. Written half a century ago, it lands with chilling contemporary relevance, echoing political rhetoric heard across today’s populist movements and reminding us that history has an unsettling habit of repeating itself.
Visually, the production finds its strongest moments in Berkoff’s trademark physical theatre. Characters morph seamlessly between locations and figures through tightly choreographed movement, while moments of exaggerated stylisation sit comfortably alongside flashes of unsettling realism. These inventive touches ensure that, even when the episodic narrative begins to lose momentum, the staging continues to engage.
The production closes with Sylv’s defiant cry: “We will not end our days like this.” It is a poignant plea for those who feel forgotten by society, a voice that resonates as powerfully today as it did in the 1970s.
While Berkoff’s episodic structure and relentless intensity prevent the drama from fully sustaining its momentum, this vigorous production reminds us why East remains an important, if challenging, landmark of British theatre. It may no longer shock for the reasons it once did, but it still demands to be heard.
Reviewer: Paul Wilcox
Reviewed: 8th July 2026
North West End UK Rating: