Rifco and Watford Palace Theatre are pleased to announce their next production, family comedy drama - 'Happy Birthday Sunita', which is set to tour this autumn.

Written by writer and actress Harvey Virdi, the play introduces audiences to British Punjabi family the Johals on the evening of daughter Sunita's fortieth birthday. As the curries simmer and rotis are smothered in full-fat butter, years of family drama bubbling under the surface start to boil over.

Harvey will be familiar to many as Mrs Malik in the BBC 1 comedy series 'Citizen Khan' and The Landlady on Sky 1's comedy chat show 'The Kumars'. She is currently in the 'Roaring Girl' season at the Royal Shakespeare Company and has previously worked on a number of Rifco productions as writer and performer including 'The Deranged Marriage', 'Meri Christmas' and 'There's Something About Simmy'.

Rifco has been a resident theatre company at Watford Palace Theatre since 2011, creatively working together to bring audiences relevant and engaging stories which reflect the contemporary British Asian experience. Successful co-productions include 'MummyJi Presents', 'Break The Floorboards' (Best Live Event – Asian Media Awards 2013), 'Britain's Got Bhangra' (People's Favourite Musical – OFFIES 2011) and earlier this year they presented the first British Asian Film Festival.

'Happy Birthday Sunita' will open at Watford Palace Theatre on 19th September and then tour to Wolverhampton, Leeds, Oldham, Brentford, Colchester and Gravesend, before heading overseas to Dubai, Mumbai and Delhi.

Happy Birthday Sunita UK Tour:

Watford Palace Theatre 19 – 21 September

Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton 23 – 27 September

West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds 1 – 4 October

Oldham Coliseum Theatre 7 – 11 October

Watermans, Brentford 14 – 18 October

Mercury Theatre, Colchester 21 October

The Woodville, Gravesend 24 – 25 October