Different, but pointing to the same trend
3rd October, 2007
by Sunny Hundal
Editor
A few weeks ago, during a symposium on the launch of a book on Bhangra, there was a discussion on whether the music genre was dead or dying.
Is the Pope Catholic? For anyone to deny that British Bhangra music is in serious trouble would be laughable.
But while the decline of Bhangra is a sad development for British Asian culture, and perhaps for discussion on another day, in contrast theatre seems to never had it so good.
The range of events that took place during 'India Now', especially the dance extravaganzas put on by Akademi, illustrate that even if music is on the decline, other forms of art are burgeoning.
Of course we have funding from the Arts Council to thank for all this but it is worth noting that British Asian theatre is becoming stronger and bigger on the strength of its own talent.
There's Something about Simmy, by Rifco Arts, currently on tour, is a good example. Having recently launched at Theatre Royal Stratford East to quite flattering reviews, the show will then tour to Manchester, Southampton, Coventry, Berkshire and Leeds.
Rifco Arts are clearly on a roll on the back of immense success enjoyed by Deranged Marriage, which came back to tour three times and was nearly sold out each time.
It may be a bit too light hearted for Parv Bancil's liking but its artistic director Pravesh Kumar has never made any apologies for his approach. There's Something about Simmy is a loud, funny and wonderfully poignant throughout. [Full disclosure: I am on the Rifco board of directors but have no involvement in the creative process]
But most of all it is a brilliant commentary on evolving British Asian culture - sometimes subtle, sometimes in your face. The acting, especially by support actresses Goldy Notay (Mindy) and Deni Francis (neighbour, Urmila) was brilliant.
The play centres around Simmy, a newly wed bride who has come to Britain from India. Her marriage falls apart when the new husband runs away on her wedding night. Left alone at her new home with a community conscious mother in law, a neurotic sister-in-law and some crazy neighbours, life is certainly not easy.
But she soons learnt to adjust and even fall in love, until... well I won't spoil it. It is great theatre although the jokes can occasionally get too blatant. Sometimes subtlety has its own attractions.
On the other hand, it can also go too far. Sampad's Motherland is currently near the end of its tour at the Oval Theatre in south London, after an absolutely huge tour of the country.
The dance and theatre piece also features a cast of around eight - nine performers. The dancing is great, the lead singer (Pallavi Arun) is amazing and the topic is not without controversy: slavery.
Beginning in 21st Century Birmingham, Motherland spans 200 years of history from the perspective of two people, one Asian and one African. It traces their ancestor's experiences from the plantations of Trinidad to the colonies of South Africa and India.
The only problem is that the dialogue and acting is so subtle that it takes some serious concentration to work out what's going on. Alternatively one can read the programme of course, as I did.
The script was co-written by Jatinder Verma from Tara Arts. And just as Pravesh Kumar from Rifco is unashamedly populist, Mr Verma, a veteran who has proudly led Tara for thirty years, is unashamedly high brow.
But that doesn't mean Motherland is not worth the effort. Its singing and dancing alone is worth seeing even if the dialogue is a bit obtuse, and Sampad should be applauded for trying to re-examine the bi-centennary of slavery in a different way.
Both productions point to the view that British Asian theatre, and thus British Asian culture in general, is thriving through different creative art forms.
Editor
A few weeks ago, during a symposium on the launch of a book on Bhangra, there was a discussion on whether the music genre was dead or dying.Is the Pope Catholic? For anyone to deny that British Bhangra music is in serious trouble would be laughable.
But while the decline of Bhangra is a sad development for British Asian culture, and perhaps for discussion on another day, in contrast theatre seems to never had it so good.
The range of events that took place during 'India Now', especially the dance extravaganzas put on by Akademi, illustrate that even if music is on the decline, other forms of art are burgeoning.
Of course we have funding from the Arts Council to thank for all this but it is worth noting that British Asian theatre is becoming stronger and bigger on the strength of its own talent.
There's Something about Simmy, by Rifco Arts, currently on tour, is a good example. Having recently launched at Theatre Royal Stratford East to quite flattering reviews, the show will then tour to Manchester, Southampton, Coventry, Berkshire and Leeds.
Rifco Arts are clearly on a roll on the back of immense success enjoyed by Deranged Marriage, which came back to tour three times and was nearly sold out each time.
It may be a bit too light hearted for Parv Bancil's liking but its artistic director Pravesh Kumar has never made any apologies for his approach. There's Something about Simmy is a loud, funny and wonderfully poignant throughout. [Full disclosure: I am on the Rifco board of directors but have no involvement in the creative process]
But most of all it is a brilliant commentary on evolving British Asian culture - sometimes subtle, sometimes in your face. The acting, especially by support actresses Goldy Notay (Mindy) and Deni Francis (neighbour, Urmila) was brilliant.
The play centres around Simmy, a newly wed bride who has come to Britain from India. Her marriage falls apart when the new husband runs away on her wedding night. Left alone at her new home with a community conscious mother in law, a neurotic sister-in-law and some crazy neighbours, life is certainly not easy.
But she soons learnt to adjust and even fall in love, until... well I won't spoil it. It is great theatre although the jokes can occasionally get too blatant. Sometimes subtlety has its own attractions.
On the other hand, it can also go too far. Sampad's Motherland is currently near the end of its tour at the Oval Theatre in south London, after an absolutely huge tour of the country.
The dance and theatre piece also features a cast of around eight - nine performers. The dancing is great, the lead singer (Pallavi Arun) is amazing and the topic is not without controversy: slavery.
Beginning in 21st Century Birmingham, Motherland spans 200 years of history from the perspective of two people, one Asian and one African. It traces their ancestor's experiences from the plantations of Trinidad to the colonies of South Africa and India.
The only problem is that the dialogue and acting is so subtle that it takes some serious concentration to work out what's going on. Alternatively one can read the programme of course, as I did.
The script was co-written by Jatinder Verma from Tara Arts. And just as Pravesh Kumar from Rifco is unashamedly populist, Mr Verma, a veteran who has proudly led Tara for thirty years, is unashamedly high brow.
But that doesn't mean Motherland is not worth the effort. Its singing and dancing alone is worth seeing even if the dialogue is a bit obtuse, and Sampad should be applauded for trying to re-examine the bi-centennary of slavery in a different way.
Both productions point to the view that British Asian theatre, and thus British Asian culture in general, is thriving through different creative art forms.
