Press Release: The Merchants of Bollywood return to The Peacock 24 May – 11 June 2016

[Jan McNulty]

The Merchants of Bollywood

The Peacock, WC2A 2HT
Tuesday 24 May – Saturday 11 June 2016

 

Tue - Sat at 7.30pm; Sat at 2.30pm; Sun at 2pm & 6pm 
Tickets: £15 - £45 (Under 16s half-price tickets, max 2 children per 1 full-paying adult)
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8222 or www.peacocktheatre.com

 

"Like a kick of chilli, its dance numbers overpower with their energy, hot rhythms and kaleidoscope of eye-scorching costumes" The Guardian 

 

After more than 1,000 performances across 20 countries, the theatrical dance spectacular TheMerchants of Bollywood returns to the West End’s Peacock Theatre from 24 May - 11 June 2016, featuring all the Bollywood dance classics, plus new choreography to some of the latest high-energy hits. 

The Merchants of Bollywood charts the history of the world’s largest and most prolific film industry and the dynasty of stars that have lit its way over generations.

 

Written and directed by Toby Gough and produced by Mark Brady, the show draws inspiration from the story of the Merchant family’s choreographing dynasty, who for generations have been Bollywood’s leading figures in film-making, music and choreography. The heroine, Ayesha Merchant, trained by her grandfather in the ancient Kathak tradition, leaves home to become a choreographer for extravagantBollywood musicals, before being drawn back to her artistic roots in Rajasthan. 

 

Featuring a cast of 36 performers adorned in 1,200 different eye-popping costumes and 5,000 pieces of glistening jewellery, this uplifting show is a riot of colour and high-energy music by award-winning composers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant. Sensational dance scenes are choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant, granddaughter of Hiralalji Merchant, one the founding fathers of classic Bollywood Cinema. Merchant’s choreography incorporates many different styles of Indian dancing including folkloric dance from Rajasthan and contemporary forms such as disco, showcasing the true variety of Bollywood musicals.

 

Vaibhavi Merchant started her career assisting her uncle Chinni Prakash, a renowned Bollywood film choreographer, and has gone on to choreograph for some of Bollywood’s biggest stars, including Aishwarya Rai and Katrina Kaif. Her choreography has featured in more than 70 films, including the Oscar nominated Lagaan, and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, for which she was awarded the National Film Award. Recent film projects include the latest instalment of the Dhoom trilogy (the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time); Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, an Indian biopic based on the life of Indian Olympian athlete, Milkha Singh; and the anthology film Bombay Talkies, celebrating 100 years of Bollywood cinema, which screened at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. 

 

Already seen by over two million people, this heart-warming show is both a vibrant homage to the world of Bollywood cinema and an intoxicating evening of music and dance. 

 

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

Sadler’s Wells

Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance house, committed to producing, commissioning and presenting new works and to bringing the very best international and UK dance to London and worldwide audiences. Under the Artistic Directorship of Alistair Spalding, the theatre’s acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap. Since 2005 it has helped to bring over 90 new dance works to the stage and its award-winning commissions and collaborative productions regularly tour internationally. Sadler’s Wells supports 16 Associate Artists, three Resident Companies and an Associate Company and nurtures the next generation of talent through hosting the National Youth Dance Company, its Summer University programme, Wild Card initiative and its New Wave Associates.

 

Located in Islington, north London, the current theatre is the sixth to have stood on the site since it was first built by Richard Sadler in 1683. The venue has played an illustrious role in the history of theatre ever since, with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera all having started at Sadler’s Wells. 

 

Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation and currently receives approximately 10% of its revenue from Arts Council England.