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BrumHour saw Frankie Goes to Bollywood at the invite of Wolverhampton Grand.
By Dave Massey x.com/BrumHour
Review: Frankie Goes to Bollywood at Wolverhampton Grand
⭐⭐⭐⭐”A fun, fresh adventure”
Concept, book and directed by Pravesh Kumar, with songs and music by Niraj Chag
A chance meeting at the rear of the cinema in Milton Keynes changes Frankie’s (Laila Zaidi) forever, she bumps into famous Bollywood director Prem (Navin Kundra) and whisks her off away to from her close cousin Goldy (Katie Stasi) and into the world of Raju King (Dhruv Ravi) who is more interested in his reputation and awards than actual acting.
This is a very fun, but cautionary musical with lots of bright bubbly songs and fun almost fairy tale style characters, led by Laila Zaidi who is excellent as Frankie. The story has a suitable amount of villains and is filled with adventure.
The vocals from the lead actors are the biggest strengths of the show as is the music itself. Katie Stasi, Laila Zaidi and Helen K Wint all shine as they deliver their Broadway-style songs to push the story forward. There’s some great choreography with even some random lighting getting choreography to do!
The production doesn’t shy away from the pitfalls of being a film star and its exploration of social media misuse, but also focuses on finding your own voice and following what has come before yourself. A universal message of family and found family is present throughout.
The set is effective with its Bollywood lights, Indian-inspired screens project lovely shadows onto the ground, there are times when this production is huge and times when it feels very small and intimate, flexing with ease between the two.
A fun fresh adventure, Frankie Goes to Bollywood is at Wolverhampton Grand until 15th June 2024. Book tickets here: grandtheatre.co.uk/whats-on/frankie-goes-to-bollywood.
