A Night out at the Theatre: Frankie Goes to Bollywood at Royal & Derngate until tomorrow, Saturday 18th April.
If I am honest, I have never ever seen a Bollywood movie, but I do like musicals and a good storyline, so this production ticked all of the boxes for me. I had been looking forward to seeing this show for months and I was not disappointed. The music, dancing, singing, costumes, story progression and stage set made for a very entertaining night at the theatre. What more could you ask for?
Luke Suri – Shona
Frankie goes to Bollywood is a celebration of modern British South Asian culture and the Hindi film industry, but the musical does not shy away from drawing attention to some hard truths about the Bollywood film industry, an industry which offers entertainment to billions, but can easily gloss over problematic stereotypes and the mistreatment of women in its films and presentation.
Sarah Pearson – Frankie
In the programme notes, the Hindi film industry is fittingly compared with Masala, a blend of spices, often used in South – Asian cookery. Bollywood films are a masala mix of songs, dance sequences, action, comedy, and music with a strong dose of melodrama and emotional storyline.
This musical starts of all places in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, with Frankie (Sarah Pearson) and her cousin/best friend Goldy (Katie Stasi), working at a cinema, dreaming of becoming Bollywood stars. For Frankie her dream is soon to be realised, after a chance audition with an young ambitious director, but at a cost to her family and cousin Goldy. Manipulated by men, most notably the older and cynical Raju King and the Bollywood system, Frankie soon finds that with her new found fame, all that glitters is not gold, and knowing who to trust and form genuine friendships within the industry, can be seriously problematic.
What I was not expecting was so much light comedy, several times I found myself laughing along with the audience at some cutting reference to British and/or Asian culture or because of the actions of the characters. When Raju King (Ankur Sabharwal) first removes his immaculate hairpiece, I should not have been surprised, but it still bought a ripple of laughter from the packed auditorium and myself. Discarded former star Malika (Meher Pavri) also manages to garner some genuine warmth from the audience, because of the poor way in which she has been treated by the industry and men, within it.
The musical is a joyful celebration, it is a time to laugh and smile but not forgetting to reflect and question sometimes oblique, unacceptable cultural idioms. The musical brings together both established and rising British South Asian performers and there were many noteworthy performances during the show,
Sarah Pearson as Frankie, delighted the audience with her steady growth from naïve young girl to determined woman of substance, Ankur Sabharwal as Raju King, displays plenty of comic timing and Katie Stasi as Goldy displayed a down to earth, forthright manner. Akshay Datta as Prem, Meher Pavri as Mallika and Luke Suri as Shona, all produced important and noteworthy contributions.
The costumes, music and set were particularly stunning. Movement of props around the set was smooth and uncomplicated, achieved with a minimum of disruption. Praise should also be given to the Rifco Theatre Company for continuing its mission to increase and support contemporary British South Asian stories on the UK’s main stages.
Frankie Goes to Bollywood can be seen at Royal & Derngate until Saturday 18 April, with performances at 7.30pm in the evening and matinees at 2.30pm on Saturday. The production will continue to tour the rest of the UK until 28th June.
Check here for further tour dates: Frankie Goes To Bollywood
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