Strictly Dandia
A play by SUDHA BHUCHAR and KRISTINE LANDON-SMITH; Music Shri
(Shrikanth Sriram)
Presented by Tamasha Theatre Company and the Lyric Hammersmith
Director Kristine Landon-Smith
Decor Sue Mayes
Lighting Chris Davey
Sound Mike Furness
Choreography Liam Steel
LYRIC HAMMERSMITH - 20 January – 14 February 2004
Synopsis
This is the story of how dance unites across racial and social divides. Dandia is a Hindu folk dance that, not unlike morris dancing, involves the clicking together of short sticks. The piece is set during Navratri — the nine-night festival before Diwali — and all the members of North London's Gujarati community are preening, picking out their outfits and perfecting their steps for the intercaste dandia competition.
Parental plotting is afoot to broker a marriage between high-caste teenager Preethi and geeky computer whiz-kid Dinesh. But Preethi only has eyes for Raza. The trouble is, Raza is a Muslim. Can Preethi and Raza overcome prejudice and win the dance competition — and each other's hearts?
The Original Cast
Sudha Bhuchar - Prema Ghedia
Charubala Chokshi - Shanti Patel
Susan Cruse - Roopa
Shaheen Khan - Pushpa Shah
Jalpa Patel - Hina Shah
Shiv Grewal - Mohan Patel/ Popatlal Shah
Davina Hemlall - Sonya Patel
Divian Ladwa - Dinesh
Don Kalss - Jaz
Simon Nagra - Bharat Shah
Prashant Kapoor - Anant Patel
Sonit Shringi - Shrenek Patel
Paul Tilley - Raza
Fiona Wade - Preethi
REVIEW SCORECARD |
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| rave | - |
| favourable | 3 |
| mixed | 4 |
| unfavourable | 2 |
| pan | - |