Wah! Wah! Girls
Tanika Gupta
Wah! Wah! Girls
Inspired by the world of the Mujra dancers, who for generations have entertained the rich and powerful with a spellbinding mix of dance and song, Wah! Wah! Girls tells a passionate and playful story of love against the odds. Set against the vibrant background of the East End in 2012, these unstoppable girls uncover deep secrets and create unexpected dreams.
2.6 out of 5 based on 7 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Location |
London |
| Venue |
Peacock Theatre |
| Director |
Emma Rice |
| Cast |
Sophiya Haque, Natasha Jayetileke, Tariq Jordan Rina Fatania |
| From |
May 2012 |
| Until |
June 2012 |
| Box Office |
0844 412 4322 |
| |
Inspired by the world of the Mujra dancers, who for generations have entertained the rich and powerful with a spellbinding mix of dance and song, Wah! Wah! Girls tells a passionate and playful story of love against the odds. Set against the vibrant background of the East End in 2012, these unstoppable girls uncover deep secrets and create unexpected dreams.
Reviews
The Daily Telegraph
Laura Thompson
“Director Emma Rice has conjured an entertainment to make the ghost of Joan Littlewood applaud. With a cast of just 13, Rice performs miracles. There is a true sense of company, a consistent accuracy of gesture and command of tone. And that tone is, yes, essentially heartwarming, but in a wry and very London way that makes the Indian sensibility threading through the piece stand out all the more sharply.”
01/06/2012
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The Times
Donald Hutera
“There’s more going on here than feel-good fun. The show sets up a symbolic conflict between two women. Deeply embedded in the script is a recognition of female oppression and empowerment. With nods to sex trafficking and “honour” killings, this enjoyable and unabashedly commercial entertainment shapes up into a timely kick in the teeth of tyrannical male cruelty.”
02/06/2012
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The Evening Standard
Fiona Mountford
“Wah! Wah! is the noise that appreciative Indian audiences make instead of applauding, but a despairing type of “wah!” was what writer Tanika Gupta too often reduced me to ... No character or situation has any heft, and a hokey framing device plays a cheap trick in the manner of a child finishing a story with, “And then I woke up”.”
01/06/2012
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The Guardian
Lyn Gardner
“Sadly, there's far more woe than wah in this feeble attempt to create a British Bollywood musical, which seems to owe more to a dull episode of EastEnders than it does to rich traditions elsewhere. ”
01/06/2012
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The Observer
Susannah Clapp
“With its checklist of London life (pigeons and Polish builders feature largely), it's an exercise in box tikka-ing.”
10/06/2012
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The Stage
Jonathan Lovett
“Britain meets Bollywood - Sadler’s Wells meets Theatre Royal Stratford East meets Kneehigh -Emma Rice meets Tanika Gupta meets Niraj Chag meets…Perhaps it’s a case of too many cooks. But whatever it is, this confused masala fails to satisfy in the same way we’ve come to expect individually from such creative powerhouses.”
01/06/2012
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Time Out
Laura Barnett
“Playwright Tanika Gupta clearly intends the show to be an affectionate tribute to Bollywood: we have forbidden love, dark secrets and a series of high-octane dance routines. They're beautifully choreographed and performed by a talented cast, so it's a shame that the story so often veers into pantomime.”
01/06/2012
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