Beyond Bollywood – Peacock Theatre, London

Writer, Choreographer and Director: Rajeev Goswami

Returning to London after seven years to The Peacock Theatre, Beyond Bollywood is a complete visual spectacle. From the opening seconds of the show, you are bombarded with glitter-ball dresses, elaborate backdrops and large group numbers. It is mainly fantastic. The ensemble of dancers gives it their absolute all and it is unabashedly joyful. The show immediately leans into the over-the-top camp aesthetic of Bollywood films and there are costume changes for every single number.

Shaily, a dancer in Munich with Indian heritage, takes a trip to Mumbai to re-discover her roots in Indian dance. Once there, Shaily finds herself choreographing the same Western fusion as before, but this time all the credit is taken by successful Bollywood choreographer Raghav. After staring down the barrels of their stalling careers, the two of them (and their comedic relief best friends) take a mammoth tour of India and learn all the rich folk dance the country has to offer.

Unfortunately, as much as the show delivers the opulence of classic Bollywood, it fails to deliver the high gloss finish. Cues are missed, awkward pads for time are ad -libbed, props are dropped and the costumes, designed by Prajakta Gore, swing wildly between some of the most intricately beautiful garments you’ll see on stage to flimsy, plastic and ill-fitting novelty costumes.

Sahil Mayenkar brings a consistent performance as the, at times unlikeable, love interest Raghav, and Sudeep Modak brings real comedy in the chauvinistic sidekick Ballu. Goral Joshi isn’t given the time or space to shine in her underwritten role of childhood friend Emma. When she is allowed to dance, or even speak, she excels but is often interrupted by Ballu.

Sadly, Alessandra Whelan who plays the main character Shaily is regularly outperformed by her peers, who she struggles to keep up with both in her acting and dancing abilities. Whelan chooses to play Shaily with all the wonderment and cultural sensitivity of a Year 8 student on a school trip to Paris and it is impossible to believe anyone would find her endearing enough to immediately hand over the keys to a large-scale Bollywood production. It is an error to have her dance alongside her late virtuoso mother towards the end of the show. She is noticeably out-danced in what should have been a tender moment of legacy. Pooja Pant, who plays Shaily’s mother, is by far the best dancer in the show. Much like her character, Pant is mesmerising and the production would benefit greatly if she were on stage for longer.

Beyond Bollywood is written, directed and choreographed by Rajeev Goswami, and it seems he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Goswami’s choreography is lively and a delight to watch, even when not perfectly executed, but the writing and directing leaves a lot to be desired. The script is stilted and paper thin, careering through any hint of character development and announcing huge plot points in between numbers.

The dance really shines in the second half when the friends travel through India learning various forms of folk dance. For a script that takes a firm pro-tradition, anti-fusion stance, there is a lot more western style dance than you would expect Beyond Bollywood is an entrancing dance show that lacks any signature Bollywood finish.

Runs until 3 September 2022