Frankie Goes To Bollywood musical announced

Rifco Theatre Company, Watford Palace Theatre and HOME Manchester will co-produce new musical Frankie Goes to Bollywood. 

The piece follows a British South Asian woman who is catapulted into the largest film industry in the world. It has a book by Pravesh Kumar, songs and music by Niraj Chag, songs and lyrics by Tasha Taylor Johnson and costume design by Andy Kumar.

Pravesh Kumar, who is also artistic director of Rifco, said: “In my decade working in Bollywood I collected so many stories of young people with bright eyes looking for the spotlight, who got chewed up and spat out by the nepotistic machine.

“Women are constantly objectified by the industry, and I wanted to tell a story about these issues that also embraces what we love about Bollywood. This show brings all the vibrancy of a Bollywood musical, and is also very funny with some larger-than-life characters, but I decided it’s time to we held up a mirror to the Bollywood film industry and exposed its darker side too.”

The show will premiere at Watford Palace Theatre in April next year, before heading to HOME Manchester as part of their 2023-24 season (which also includes Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!, a new production of Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing and a new staging of Little Women). Additional tour dates, cast and creative team for the piece are all to be revealed.