East is a 1975 verse play by Steven Berkoff

Steven Berkoff

Steven Berkoff is an English actor, writer and director. Best known for his performance as General Orlov in the James Bond film Octopussy, he is typically cast in villanous roles, such as Lt...

, dealing with growing up and rites of passage

Rites of Passage

Rites of Passage is an African American History program sponsored by the Stamford, Connecticut US public schools. The program consists of an extra day of schooling on Saturday for 12 weeks, service projects, and a culminating educational trip to Gambia and Senegal. Gambia and Senegal are the...

 in London's rough East End.

The 25th anniversary production, produced by Marc Sinden

Marc Sinden

Marc Sinden is an English theatre producer, documentary director and actor. His father is the actor Sir Donald Sinden.-Theatre:...

 and starring Tanya Franks

Tanya Franks

Tanya Christine Franks is an English-based actress, writer and producer, who is most known for starring roles on television in Family Affairs, The Bill, Pulling and the role of Rainie Cross in EastEnders. Franks is also the founder of Stock-pot Productions, a theatre and media production company...

, started at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley

Churchill Theatre

The Churchill Theatre in Bromley, south east London was built by the London Borough of Bromley to designs by its borough architect's department.It is carefully integrated into the central library complex overlooking Church House Gardens and Library Gardens...

. The tour included the Edinburgh Festival

Edinburgh Festival

The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...

 (winning the Stage Award for Best Ensemble work at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Stage Awards for Acting Excellence

The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence are a set of Scottish theatre awards which were established in 1995 to recognise outstanding theatre performances by individuals and companies on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Organised by theatrical newspaper The Stage, the initial award categories of Best...

) and the Théâtre de Silvia Monfort, Paris

Silvia Monfort

Silvia Monfort was a French actress and theatre director. Daughter of the sculptor Charles Favre-Bertin and wife of Pierre Gruneberg....

. It opened at London's Vaudeville Theatre

Vaudeville Theatre

The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...

on 15 September 1999 where the DVD of the production was filmed in front of a live audience.