Behind the Beautiful Forevers

India is beginning to prosper

But beyond the luxury hotels surrounding Mumbai airport is an obstacle, a makeshift slum

It's home to foul mouthed Zehrunisa and her garbage sorting son Abdul - entrepreneurs both

Sunil, twelve, picks plastic

Manju, a schoolteacher, hopes to be the settlement's first woman to gain a degree

Asha, the go-to woman, exploits every scam to become a first-class person

And Fatima One Leg, is about to make an accusation that will destroy herself and shatter the neighbourhood

Katherine Boo spent three years under the flight-path, recording the lives of Annawadi's diverse inhabitants

Boo's book won the National Book Award for Non-Fiction in 2012 and David Hare's adaptation has fashioned an epic play which details the ingenious and sometimes violent ways in which the poor and disadvantaged negotiate with corruption to seek a handhold on capitalism's lowest rungs

Behind the Beautiful Forevers premiered at the National Theatre, London, in November 2014

REVIEWS

"Magnificent ... has a humane, dignified sweep that captivates" ~ Independent