‘Frankie Goes to Bollywood’ brings musical beats to London stage
The story of Frankie, a young British Indian movie buff working as an usher in a cinema theatre to keep the memories of her late Bollywood star mother alive, has hit London’s Southbank Centre for its Queen Elizabeth Hall run until August 18.
Rifco Theatre Company’s most ambitious and spectacular musical yet, ‘Frankie Goes to Bollywood’, has been on tour in multiple cities around the UK including Watford, Manchester, Hayes, Hornchurch, Wolverhampton, Bradford, Windsor, Coventry and Cardiff , in partnership with Watford Palace Theatre and Home Manchester. With a tagline of ‘Come escape... to a Billion Colour Love Story’, the musical extravaganza is conceived as a celebration of the vibrant culture and stories of the British Indian community, complete with an on-stage band belting out classical as well as peppy numbers.
Frankie (Laila Zaidi) has struggled through the loss of her beloved mother Malika (Helen K. Wint) as a young girl, with the love of her cousin sister (Goldy) the only familial bond she has ever known. When a chance meeting with Bollywood director Prem Kumar (Navin Kundra) yields an audition opportunity that wins Frankie a once-in-a-lifetime acting opportunity in Bombay, she reluctantly takes the plunge in the hope to reconnect with her Indian roots and perhaps find that elusive place where she truly belongs.
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While bagging a dream project with Bollywood star Raju King (Geet Sagar) and a new dubious friend in Shona (Gigi Zahir) initially hold out much promise, a homesick Frankie is soon swept away by the fake allure of a land skewed in favour of nepo babies. Will Frankie find that sense of belonging she has been desperate for all her life or will her dreams come crashing down?
The plot of this new musical is really quite simplistic, with some profound issues just skimmed over. It is the glittering costumes and energetic choreography that are designed to drive the narrative forward, with the innovative use of the saree to depict the make-believe world of Indian cinema making quite a colourful impact. Musically, while some of the high notes are well hit, a remixed Bollywood classic might have added more of a punch as audiences made their exit.
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The easy-breezy sets and bright lights are well in tune to take Frankie to the hustle and bustle of Bollywood and then back to Old Blighty, with a commendable effort to dazzle along the way.
*Info: Frankie Goes to Bollywood