Laila The Musical - Rifco Arts - Touring

[showgirl]

This is the best work I've ever seen by Rifco Arts; also one of the best new musicals I've seen this year.  I know it's a matter of musical taste but in this case the show was full of really catchy, melodic numbers, which is what I like.  If you want to hear an example, one of the songs, "It Is You" is on Rifco's site. performed by the two leads.

The whole cast of 9 are great, most playing multiple parts; there is a dramatic if familiar plot about the impact on young lovers of  feuding families, but also plenty of humour.  I caught the last performance in Watford, where it was good to see a very mixed audience, both in terms of age and background, including lots of family groups, from small children to grandparents.

There are at least 6 more locations on the tour, UK-wide; I'd happily have seen it again had there been time.

[Being Alive]

Saw this on press night - totally agree.

Its really beautiful, with the cast working incredibly hard to deliver. The music is still haunting me now - different bits of it come back to me at different points. Enjoyed it a lot more than some of the stuff ive seen in the West End currently.

Will be seeing this in Warwick again on the tour - try and catch it

[darren]

Laila The Musical is the latest production from Rifco Arts to visit the New Wolsey in Ipswich this week as part of a two-month UK tour. Telling the story of love-struck Leila, she takes shelter in a bookstore during a storm and becomes engrossed in a book telling the classic story of young lovers Laila and Majnu.

This show submerges the audience in a wonderful fusion of music bringing traditional musical theatre and asian pop culture together to deliver an exciting and original score. The small band of live musicians accompanied by a recorded ‘click-track’ deliver a powerhouse of sound and the clarity of the audio around the auditorium was perfectly balanced and crystal-clear.

The atmospheric lighting, colourful costumes and the clever use of material drapes allows the simplistic stage setting to transport the audience to the faraway land. Whether a market bazaar or the blowing sands of the desert, the cast and stage hands work extremely hard to make each scene transition smooth and effective.

Near the beginning of the show, a large white drape covers the front of the stage and shadow puppets are used to introduce the background to the story. The accompanying song reminded me of Disney’s The Lion King – I loved it.

In the lead roles of Qays and Laila, Reece Bahia and Mona Goodwin are perfectly paired. Whether solo in Follow the Wind or together in It Is You, their vocals are stunning and the ranges of emotions they display with their acting qualities make their characters instantly believable.

In supporting roles as Atif and Zeenat, Kush Khanna and Sheena Patel are brilliant and bring a well needed comedic element to the storyline. Their own relationship adds an interesting subplot.

Surrinder Singh Parwana in dual roles as the Father and Prince for me is the star of the show. I simply loved his vocal style and his lead on the final song To Be Free is wonderful especially when he sang in Punjabi (I may be wrong but it wasn’t English!) accompanied by the whole cast in English. It is a real get up and dance number but for fear of upsetting the rest of the audience and embarrassing myself I chose not to!

My only regret is the curtain call was too short – the appreciative audience had more to give and were denied the opportunity of doing so. As one lady said to me on the way out… ‘that was bloody brilliant’ – I hope this production finds the audience it truly deserves and the tour is extended.

You can check out a few photos from the production on my blog www.musicalblurb.com