Say the word “Bollywood” and what springs to mind? If you are like me, then you will have heard the word in connection with Indian film-making. So, a few facts for you. The term ‘Bollywood’ was coined in the 1970s when Indian cinema overtook America as the world’s largest film producer, producing an estimated 1,000 movies every year. This is not surprising when around 14 million Indians go the cinema every day. I could go on but, instead, I’m just going to recommend that you get a real feel for Bollywood by heading to the Peacock Theatre to see Taj Express.
Young Composer Shankar (Mikhail Sen) has a dream. He wants to compose for a Bollywood movie. Then he can be discovered and maybe one day be heralded as the new A. R. Rahman. Then one day, he gets a call from Bollywood producer Raj Pakora (Denzil Smith) who wants to hire Shankar to work on his new blockbuster Taj Express – a love story between Kareena Kaboom (Tanvi Patil) and the handsome Arjun (Hitten Shah). This is a big deal for Shankar and he sets to work to create his first Bollywood musical. Shankar isn’t helped by a cheesy plotline, an ever-changing script and a group of musicians – guitarist, ‘Flash’ (Chandan Raina), percussionist ‘Animal’ (Prathamesh Kandalkar) and flautist ‘Harry Puttar’ (Avadooth Phadke) – who are not necessarily as committed to the project as Shankar himself. As the release date for Taj Express gets ever closer, everyone is asking will the movie be Shankar’s magnum opus or his Waterloo?
Taj Express is basically a show within a show. Shankar addresses the audience directly as he is writing his songs for the movie and then we get to see the songs in situ performed by a team of talented dancers. As a narrative device it sort of works but, let’s be honest, the plot of the show was never going to matter that much, though full credit to writer Toby Gough for the work put in. From the start, the audience is warned that the story consists of “unbelievable storylines, melodramatic acting and terrible jokes” and it really does. But, this makes it a very endearing production and I got the feeling that, for the majority of the audience, they would expect nothing less from a Bollywood storyline
Taj Express is a show that revolves around singing and dancing and this where it really excels. I don’t pretend to be an expert in Indian dancing but from where I was sitting, I found the experience mesmerising. There were a lot of styles intermingled with each other, and there was a heck of a lot of energy expended by the large group of dancers. The use of back projection meant there was no need for a set so director Shruti Merchant and Choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant were able to make excellent use of the stage. Bipin Tanna’s costumes were absolutely beautiful and there was enough six packs flying around to know the male dancers spent a lot of time in the gym.
With well over 30 songs spread over 23 scenes, the pace is fast but, thankfully, easy to follow. There are moments when things calm down – I particularly liked the audience participation yoga. At just over two hours, including interval Taj Express is quite long and personally, I think it could have been slightly shorter without losing anything significant. Having said that though, the show is a spectacle of light, colour and sound that entertains and enthralls right through. Even someone as unversed in the ways of Bollywood films as I am found the show to be a wonderful introduction to that world and a great evening’s entertainment.
Dawid Minnar Janine Ulfane – Photograher credit Alixandra Fazzina. “Survival of the fittest” is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. Which means that even in the most inhospitable of placers, life will find a way – even if at times, you may look and think what’s the point? For example, in South Africa, the aloe plant is considered one of the country’s most powerful, beautiful and celebratory symbols. It survives out in the wild when everything else is dried. At the end of everything, the aloe is still there. And it is this survival that is at the heart of Athol Fugard’s A Lesson From Aloes which has returned to the UK and is currently in residence at the Finborough Theatre. Set in South Africa in 1963, where apartheid is at its height and the citizens are living in a paranoid police state. The play revolves around a middle-aged left-leaning couple – Afrikaner Piet Bezuidenhout (Dawid Minnaar) and hi
Since 1912, the Blackburn Musical Theatre Company has been entertaining the theatre going folks of this Lancashire town with their annual musical production. In that time, they have covered the vast array of musical theatre from their first production - Sunday - through to their latest - Hello Dolly - which I caught at the Blackburn Empire Theatre. Dolly Gallagher Levi (Sue Chadwick) is a woman that likes to meddle, or as she puts it, arrange things. Whatever you need doing, Dolly is the person for the job. And right now, she is the talk of turn of the century New York, having brought together Mr Horace Vandergelder (Kris Wlodarczyk), the well-known half-a-millionaire and Mrs Irene Molloy (Laura Mitchell) a widowed millener. Their engagement and subsequent marriage seems pretty much sewn up though neither is marrying for love. Horace, as he tells his Chief Clerk, Cornelius Hackl (Ryan Coe), and Assistant, Barnaby Tucker (Fletcher Illingworth), is looking for someone to r
Since July 2014, I've seen and reviewed 588 shows altogether. 2017 was a fairly quiet year with a total of 132 shows visited by yours truly. So, in the best traditions of end of the year ideas, here is my list of the top 10 shows that I've seen this year. Please remember, this is my list not anybody else's and if you don't agree with the pick, well, what can I say? 1. Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Bridewell Theatre This story of friendship and hope took two drag queens and a trans woman from Sydney to Alice Springs, in a big pink bus. Along the way, the met new friends and face rampant homophobia. SEDOS brought every element of the show together beautifully, and to a standard that you would expect to see in the West End. Sold out virtually as soon as it was announced, this was the ‘must see production of the year. 2. La Cage aux Folles, New Wimbledon Theatre This is was a touring production of a show that demonstrates the importance of family a
Comments
Post a Comment