As soon as I approached the theatre I knew my evening was going to be uplifting, entertaining and leave me whistling catchy tunes due to the music and energy I could hear radiating from the building. West Yorkshire Playhouse should be congratulated for their entertainment in the foyer before the show, a group of dancers from Zoobin Karma Dance who got everyone smiling and set a sense of excitement for the show.

Britain’s Got Bhangra charts the development of Bhangra music from the 1980’s to the present day. Telling the story of a young Indian community trying to make a voice for themselves within the new western world they found themselves. The story is focused around Twinkle, played by Shin, a young man who moves to the ‘gold lined streets of London’ to make money with the aim of giving his wife a good life. He is a talented singer but in his naivety signs his music across to Shindie, played by Sophiya Haque, a self obsessed ‘entrepreneur’.

Pravesh Kumar’s production is an excellent introduction to bhangra music for those who are new to it. It pulled in a full house of both English and Punjabi speakers. The cast sing and act in both English and Punjabi, at first it feels a little difficult to take in, but then you just relax and go along with the story, the choreography and expression of the cast are more than enough to make you understand what is going on. The storyline is basic but this works with everything else that is happening on stage, communication through music and dance is the main aim of this show and a more complicated plot would get in the way of the spectacle and tongue in cheek humour.

The casting was exceptional, each cast member stood out individually no matter how big or small the part. I loved the performances of Rina Fatania who opens the show with a unique version of twinkle twinkle little star. Rakesh Bourny plays the part of DJ lovely in an annoying yet lovable naïve way with some great moves, he is thoroughly entertaining. Sophiya Haques portrayal of Shin’s nemesis was fantastic, and her beautiful, unique voice is showcased in the opening number to the second half. Arun Blair-Mangat who plays Twinkle’s illegitimate love child, Jason, has a stunningly pure voice, you could listen to it all night. Of course, probably unsurprisingly my highlight was Shin, his voice is indescribable, he has beautiful tones, sings each song with a passion and technical brilliance, an all round spectacular performer.

The cast worked together incredibly well, the quality of the singing was consistently exceptional. If you close your eyes you would believe you were listening to a large chorus, in fact there were only 11 of them, regularly shifting between characters.

The music by Sumeet Chopra is fabulously addictive making you want to dance and foot tap at every given opportunity both during and after the show. It sets the pace of the performance meaning you barely notice any scene changes through the excitement of the music. The band under the musical direction of Mark Collins should be given a special mention as they never stopped playing. It was great to see them on stage too during the recording sessions.

Andy Kumar’s choreography is second to none. He manages to create a spectacular scene in what seems at times like limited space. Equally as impressive and adding to the spectacle of the show are the colourful costumes, designed by Andy and Laura Stanfield.

The set designed by Simon Lima Holdsworth was wonderful on arrival to the theatre I felt like I was in for something special from the outset, when in England the set consisted of a street lined with shops and it was inside the shutters that the band sat. The lighting design by Douglas Kurt worked hand in hand with the set and creatively managed to quickly transform the mood of the story.

An all round passionate, energetic and humorous performance which could not fail to send each audience member away with a song in their heart, a smile on their face and a love for bhangra music.

So, as I’m sitting waiting for the show to start, I’m leafing through the programme and find myself saying ‘Holy crap! Britain’s had a thriving Bhangra scene for 30 years that has, at times, outsold the UK top 40? You mean it didn’t all start with that Punjabi MC Knightrider remix?’ Then I realised I was talking to myself and it might look a bit weird. Anyway, suffice to say, my knowledge of Bhangra music is, well, pretty much non-existent.

The basic story of Britain’s Got Bhangra is [take a deep breath and follow along with me here]: Twinkle, the lead character, moves from India to England with hopes of sending for his wife when he earns enough money. He gets a job with his new found friend Rocky and they discover a mutual love of singing. Twinkle goes to temple and the Priest likes his singing voice so much, he asks him to sing at a wedding. Twinkle and Rocky sing at the wedding where the groom runs off with a guest and the bride is distraught. A year later, Twinkle runs into the jilted bride and she persuades him and Rocky to record some music. She then becomes their manager. Following? Good.

We then see, through Twinkle and Rocky’s journey how Bhangra progresses through the 80s into 1997. They are the darlings of the Bhangra scene in the UK, touring around the country, celebrated wherever they go. Twinkle, however, has let fame get to his head somewhat and has become a drunk. He even sleeps with a groupie (very rock n’ roll). Rocky is sick of Twinkle’s behaviour and informs him that he plans to move back to India and get married. When he tells Shindie, their manager, she is equally unimpressed. The thuggish brother of the groupie Twinkle slept with comes looking for him and Shinde, out of spite, points him in the direction of Rocky and well, bad things happen.

Twinkle spirals into a depression, doesn’t show up for gigs. Meanwhile, Bhangra is changing and a younger crowd who are remixing the sound have taken over. In the second act we see Twinkle struggle to get his life together as repercussions from his stardom, particularly that groupie encounter, come back to haunt him.

I’ll be honest, there were moments in the show that were complete corn on the cob, covered in cheese. But heck, I’m a known lover of a cheesy musical. There is obviously a lot of Punjabi/Urdu used throughout and at times, I felt I couldn’t really connect. At certain points, a joke is made of this when Twinkle sings to his wife and half way through, stops and says ‘this isn’t working, let’s try it in English.’

The cast are fantastic and truly look like they’re having a blast. Twinkle (played by Shin) has a superb voice. Cast member Rina Fatania who plays an Auntie is wasted in the chorus – someone get this woman her own show! She got huge laughs whenever she was on – absolutely perfect comic timing.

The show builds to a climax and the ending will knock your socks off, knit you a new pair and knock them off again. A full on Bhangra number complete with Bollywood-style routine, amazing set and awesome costumes? Well, I don’t mind if I do. The audience went absolutely mental at the end. Talk about high energy.

This is a great show, with some wonderfully comical moments and a fantastic soundtrack that young and old alike will enjoy. Showing at the Playhouse til July 17th, I suggest you get your sari on, get down there and have yourself a good time.

The cast are fantastic and truly look like they’re having a blast. Twinkle (played by Surrinder Singh Parwana (Shin) has a superb voice.

- Submitted by BangsandaBun

View the article here: http://theculturevulture.co.uk/blog/?p=6974

Venue: The Playhouse
Where: Oxford
Date Reviewed: 09 June 2010
WOS Rating: 

The Indian subcontinent seems to loom large in my reviewer’s mind right now after last week’s expedition to the North Wall for Correspondence. Tonight we are back at the Playhouse for Rifco Arts’ superb Britain’s Got Bhangra.

We meet our hero, Twinkle, as he is about to make the great leap from India to Britain to strike it big in the 1970s. He has the immigrant blues though, and needs to deal with success, money and his love back in the motherland. What is striking about the production is its unfussy use of, and clear love for, the musical form.

To explain: new musicals commonly fall into the trap of putting their subject material before the story. It would have been easy for Britain’s Got Bhangra to be a dull meditation on the immigrant experience with ciphers for characters. Instead, from the very first note we understand that we are safely in the land of the musical where the lead follows his dream to be a bhangra star, we have a fairy godmother, a brothers/family motif, Sophiya Haque’s cracking Yoko Ono-esque bad girl chewing up the set and happy ending just around the corner. We are at such a stage with new British musicals that it feels odd that so few get the basics right and offer their audience such a riotous night out.

The score is fleet and exciting, shifting between bhangra, funk, rap and musical fare. As it turns out, Bhangra is perfectly suited to life inside a musical. The pace never drops below the frenetic with simple staging and fluent direction. The chorus are very funny and all the leads sing beautifully as they inhabit their characters. Special praise to Natasha Lewis andArun Blair-Mangat for their adept handling of the slower tunes.

Britain’s Got Bhangra is comparable to that first blast of hot air when stepping out of the airport on holiday. By the 2nd encore the thing had gathered so much energy that they could have kept us dancing all night. Bloody bloody wonderful.

- Josh Tomalin

The review can be seen here: http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8831276078278&title=Britain’s+Got+Bhangra+(Tour+-+Oxford)&ref=D