Continuing your intrepid correspondent’s epic cultural journey of discovery into the world of dance and ethic tradition, I popped along to the Peacock Theatre the other night to see “The Merchants of Bollywood”.
http://www.sadlerswells.com/show/Merchants-of-Bollywood-2011
It’s riot of colour, music and energy just blows you away. Tracing the rise of the Bollywood film industry to the present day via a somewhat tortuous narrative device, it’s just an excuse for one big dance-athon after another.
By the end people are literally dancing in the aisles and everyone is doing that crazy sideways-nodding-head thing and shouting “BRRRRRRR!” like we are all in Mumbai during mad monsoon season.
If you liked the end credits of Slumdog, then you’ll love this. Yes, it’s cheesy. Yes, it’s melodramatic. But the 40(!) dancers’ enthusiasm makes you forget all that and it’s impossible not to succumb to the sheer joy of it. Over 2 million people have seen it worldwide and I should imagine most of them would go back to see it again. I certainly would. It’s playing until Sunday 3 July.
Now you must excuse me: I must drive my Hindustan Ambassador home to visit my cow.
Greig McCallum
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