HE lives in a sleepy village in rural Jaen.
But Ayub Khan Din has just won the most prestigious British theatre award for his comedy Rafta Rafta.
Already celebrated for his award-winning movie East is East, Khan Din, who lives near Frailes, has scooped an Olivier award for the play, a warm-hearted Asian family saga based in the north of England.
Starring Meera Syal, he adapted the 1963 play All In Good Time to create a new version of the comical tale about a close-knit family.
While the action stayed true to Bill Naughton’s play, Khan-Din focused on an Indian family and brought in elements of Asian culture to the story.
Set in the 1960’s, complete with swirly carpets and lino, the play begins directly after the wedding of the family’s eldest son.
The newly weds move into the groom’s single room, which doesn’t prove the best environment to begin a marriage, and six weeks later the family begin to panic when the virgin bride remains so.
Khan Din, who is also known for his acting roles in films Sammy and Rosie get Laid and My Beautiful Launderette, got his big break in Coronation Street.
Brought up in the rough area of Salford, near Manchester, the film and earlier play, came out of his experiences.
Growing up in a family of nine brothers and one sister, he got three CSE’s, before becoming a hairdresser, as his parents would not let him sign on.
“I was the worst hairdresser in Manchester and never finished my apprenticeship,” he said.
He moved to Spain with his wife and two daughters two years ago, in part inspired by Michael Jacob’s book The Factory of Light.
