Handful of Henna, a new play by Rani Moorthy, the writer of the international hit show Curry Tales, appears in the egg theatre Bath tomorrow and on Saturday.

Handful of Henna is a joyous and moving production about lives lived across two cultures and one girl's journey to understanding her mother. Skipping back and forth across time, four actresses create a bustling, colourful world bursting with music, dance and family celebration.

Being dragged by her mother to India to visit the family village thousands of miles away is not 13-year-old Nasreen's idea of fun. In the monsoon rain and unable to text her friends, her trip takes an unexpected turn. Nasreen is about to discover some unexpected truths about her mother, with the mystical power of henna, a secret garden of buried dreams and more than a little help from the wagging tongues of aunties, grandparents and neighbours.

Handful of Henna was originally commissioned by Sheffield Theatres for the city's Children's Festival, developed from real stories of women from South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Rani Moorthy found that uniting these women was not only Islam but also henna. Most commonly used to decorate the body of brides, the stories of these women revealed henna's mystical attributes from ancient times related to its use in childbirth, as a way of warding off evil, as a symbol of fertility and the supernatural.

With warm humour and moving drama,

Handful of Henna

looks at how the power of henna helps soothe and calm fears in a fractious mother/daughter relationship, and how children need to understand their parents – as much as parents need to understand their children. The universal relationship at the heart of Rani Moorthy's play reflects family relationships, loyalties and intrigues that will touch and excite all audiences, whatever their cultural or ethnic background.

Rani Moorthy was born in Malaysia, and came to Britain in 1996. Her solo show

Curry Tales

became the UK's most widely toured piece of Asian theatre, also broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and touring to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and USA. Rasa have produced Rani's plays

Pooja

,

Dancing Within Walls

,

Too Close To Home

and

Shades of Brown

, and her drama serial

Whose Sari Now

was heard on BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour

.

Tickets cost £7/£5 children. The show is suitable for anyone aged seven and over. For tickets call 01225 823409 or 01225 448844.