The affectionate nomenclature “Bollywood” denotes films traditionally produced in Bombay (aka: Mumbai) and which employ some of the distinctive forties and fifties Hollywood narratives. As the program notes for Bring on the Bollywood explain:
“A journalist in the 1970s first coined the nickname for the Hindi film industry by replacing the H from Hollywood with the B from Bombay… which is the capital of the industry.”
The plot in a Bollywood film is filled with romance of one kind or another. Boy meets girl; they immediately fall in love but are then faced with bumpy obstacles so that they seem to fall in and out of love a few times until, finally, working through all these obstacles, they reach a happy ending which is celebrated with a HUGE party. (more…)
Phizzical Productions present their brand new show Bring on the Bollywood, bursting in to Oxford Playhouse on Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 August. With a dynamic cast of celebrated British Asian performers and young rising stars, the comedic musical of East meets West brings the explosive colour, vibrancy and beauty of classic Bollywood to the British stage. Bring on the Bollywood opens in Oxford on the 70th anniversary of Indian Independence.
New and old collide in this vivid comedy, full of intertwined love stories, dazzling dance and a sensational soundtrack. Bring on the Bollywood takes a love story inspired by real life, filters it through classical comedies from Goldsmith to Shakespeare and infuses it with all the energy of a great Bollywood musical. Come and join Katrina, our headstrong heroine, as she leaves London and returns to her ancestral home, the shabby and un-chic Lakshman Villa, for her brother’s wedding. Here she finds a meddling mother, a line of suitors and, just possibly, true love…
Created and directed by Samir Bhamra, Artistic Director of Phizzical Productions and Creative Director of the London Asian Film Festival, this dynamic nationwide touring production brings a kaleidoscope of colour and Bollywood magic for this delightfully romantic riot of Anglo-Indian exuberance.
Newcomer Nisha Aaliya plays the fiery heroine Dr. Katrina Pawar and is accompanied by a cast of 13 fellow Bollywood performers including Avita Jay (Spare, New Diorama Theatre) and Anthony Sahota a recent finalist on Gary Barlow’s Let It Shine (BBC One). Making his professional acting debut is Robby Khela, whose work in music has seen him support pop acts such as Craig David, Blue, Lemar, Girls Aloud and Misteeq on tour.
Bring on The Bollywood is a love letter to traditional Bollywood, innovated for musical theatre aficionados and contemporary Bollywood lovers alike.
Performances: Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 August
Times: Tues to Thurs & Sat eves: 7.30pm | Fri: 8pm | Thu & Sat mats: 2.30pm
Venue: Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2LW
Tickets: £11.50 to £28 | Discounts available
Book online here, or call the Box Office on 01865 305305
Age guideline: 8+
Phizzical Productions specialises in producing and commissioning classical, contemporary and popular arts influenced by Asian, Arabic and African cultures. It develops new talent, produce and tour new work across all art forms. Recent successes include Ram Lila, an outdoor commission by Leicester City Council for the largest Diwali celebrations outside India, a national tour of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, and singer Navin Kundra’s Tribute to Rajesh Khanna the first superstar of Bollywood. Find out more about Phizzical Productions here
Oxford Dance Writers 