Rifco Theatre Company have been producing live entertainment celebrating contemporary British South Asian experiences for a quarter of a century. This month, they turn their attention to the beloved theatre tradition of ‘the great British panto’ - but they will, of course, be adding in a Bollywood-blockbuster twist! Co-produced with the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Surinderella promises magic, makeovers and selfie-obsessed stepsisters. What’s On spoke to Rifco’s associate director, Ameet Chana, to find out more...

Pantomime has arrived early - oh yes, it has!

This month, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre launches new touring show Surinderella - a blend of traditional British panto and South Asian stagecraft.

Co-produced by Rifco Theatre Company and the Grand, the show promises to be an all-singing, all-dancing new take on the much-loved fairytale of Cinderella.

Written by Rifco Artistic Director Pravesh Kumar and directed by the company’s associate director, Ameet Chana (pictured), the production sees Rifco bringing some of their own magic to the story of the little ash girl.

“If you’ve been to a Rifco show before, you’re going to know exactly what you’re going to get,” says Ameet.

“You’re going to get big, you’re going to get bold, you’re going to get colours, you’re going to get great music. Ultimately, what we love to do, and what we specialise in doing, is entertainment.

“If you’ve not been to a Rifco show before, you will get all of that but you will also be surprised. We’ve taken an amazingly brilliant British tradition, turned it on its head and Desi-fied it, to make panto more accessible; to make people feel like it’s for them, if they maybe haven’t felt that way before. It’s just going to be a great afternoon or evening of pure entertainment for all the family.”

Rifco have built up a reputation for combining cultures to create new narratives. Previous shows include Frankie Goes To Bollywood, Pali And Jay’s Ultimate Asian Wedding DJ Roadshow and Happy Birthday Sunita.

“I think Surinderella is the reason Rifco exists,” says Ameet, who has been involved with the company since its foundation in 2000. “Panto is such a great British tradition, but as a kid, I didn’t really go to it that often because I didn’t feel like it was for me. But this show is a brilliant take on a classic, and it’s for everybody. I can bring my grandparents, and they’ll get it; I can bring my four-year-old, and they’ll get it. But at the same time, this show will introduce them to a genre which they might not have thought was for them in the first place.”

The new production takes the original fairytale and not only places it in a South Asian context but also re-imagines some of the characters - as Ameet explains: “I think what we’ve done is really embrace the pantomime tropes, like the Ugly Sisters, like being in the woods, like falling in love with the Prince and vice versa. But what we’ve also done is totally flip our Cinderella, who is Surinderella, and empower her a bit. The role of women within panto hasn’t really evolved or progressed to modern-day women, and I think what Pravesh has done brilliantly is really empower Surinderella. She’s a kind of eco warrior; she doesn’t need a man in order to succeed, and she stands up to the Ugly Sisters. She’s not passive toward them; she’s quite strong and modern.”

In order to reinvent the tradition, the team needed to fully understand pantomime, which meant seeing more than their fair share of shows.

“Over the past two or three years, since we’ve been toying with the idea, I’ve tried to catch more of the panto season,” says Ameet. “I’ve caught about two or three shows each year.”

Ameet’s acting career began at the age of 15 when he was cast in the Film Four movie Wild West. He then undertook numerous stage roles - including in Rifco’s Bollywood 2000 - Yet Another Love Story - before appearing on both the big and small screens; he played Tony in the hit movie Bend It Like Beckham and Adi Ferreira in EastEnders.

Even as his career developed, he remained closely linked with Rifco. He trained as a stage director through the company’s Associates Programme - which he now manages.

“I shadowed Pravesh over two years, really getting to understand directing theatre, casting it, developing it, developing scripts and dramaturgy with him. I realise now that, having been part of developing, creating, and then going on to produce and direct shows for the company, it’s probably what my 30 years of being an actor has led to.

“I’m now in a position to make work which I wish had existed when I was a younger actor - because this kind of rich, creative work for South Asian actors didn’t exist back then; opportunities were so few and far between. It’s so satisfying for me to be able to put a show on its feet - watching brilliantly talented British South Asian actors on stage and knowing ‘we did that.’”

Surinderella is the first time Rifco have co-produced with the Wolverhampton Grand, and Ameet says it’s a natural partnership: “I actually did a play at the Wolverhampton Grand as a young actor. The theatre is in the heart of a community that is our audience. I think when we took Frankie Goes To Bollywood there last year, it was a real eye-opener, not just for the Grand but also for us. We asked ourselves, ‘Why are we not bringing more shows here?’ We had always looked at the bigger cities, but Wolverhampton is in the heart of a particular community, a Punjabi community, and both Pravesh and I come from British Punjabi backgrounds. It feels like a home for our work. And they’ve been so brilliant at the Grand - so warm and so welcoming through this process. It feels so right."

The production has also seen the team collaborate with Wolverhampton-based singer & music producer PBN.

“It’s very cool to have someone who is local talent but celebrated internationally exploring theatre creatively for the first time in Wolverhampton,” says Ameet. “It’s been such a great journey. He totally gets what Surinderella and Rifco are about, as he’s already watched our work. So there’s something special in the coming together of me, Pravesh and PBN to create this and make it authentically right, and for it to open in his home city.”

Ameet promises the show will be fun for all.

“Our audiences tend to be raised on an appetite of Hindi cinema, Bollywood, and big bhangra things at weddings and parties. You’re going to get all of that. PBN is the king of making that fusion world of bhangra and South Asian sounds work really well with Western hip-hop beats and R&B and pop-commercial. The show will feature big, bold, bright songs and dance routines.

“We make work for everyone. We are commissioned, and we receive funding from the Arts Council to generate audiences that don’t necessarily go to the theatre or feel like the theatre is for them. But by taking such a brilliantly authentic British story as Cinderella, and turning it on its head in this kind of Desi or South Asian way, we’re saying ‘You know Cinderella, I know Cinderella - let’s bring this together and celebrate this amazing British tradition collectively.’ 

“[We want to] make it for everyone, because sometimes the traditional versions don’t feel that way.”

Surinderella shows at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Tuesday 23 to Saturday 27 September.

By Diane Parkes