Queerguru’s Andrew Hebden reviews THE BOLLYWOOD GUIDE TO REVENGE @ London’s Soho Theatre

“The Bollywood Guide to Revenge” ****SOHO THEATRE, LondonGather together everybody, you’re in for an unexpected treat. Shafeeq Shajahan has created a theatrical poem, a camp tapestry woven from two tales that mirror each other. It’s a whispered secret, and a shout from the rooftops, a tale of rejection, pain, and defiance, swathed in a silky veneer of revenge. A feast for the senses, and in more ways than one, divine.“The Bollywood Guide to Revenge” uses a classic Bollywood tale of love and rejection to plunge into Shafeeq’s deeply personal meditations on the same issue. On the one hand, is the borrowed story of a woman with a heavenly voice who uses her talent to praise Krishna. She is pursued by Rajiv, a handsome engineer who prides himself on his perfectionism. However, he has only seen our heroine from a distance, or behind a veil, or partially concealed. Rajiv professes his love for her but then discovers she is covered in the most painful looking scars. Furious, he rejects her. She curses him in front of Krishna, the heavens open, and his life’s work building a dam is destroyed by floods. Only in his loss does he understand that he had rejected her essential divinity.Concurrently Shafeeq tells his own story about his mother’s difficult early life, his unconditional love for her and the desolation he feels when she reacts badly to his coming out. In a cathartic one hour show he uses classical Indian melodies and Cypriot folk music to sing his pain, to reveal his own scars. The music is haunting. The unfamiliarity of the language to an English speaking audience, rather than creating distance, only intensifies the emotions. We are drawn deeper into Shafeeq’s world. Vasilis Konstantinides, playing piano and supporting vocals weaves a soundscape that is as lush and vibrant as the verbal and visual feast Shafeeq delivers. Special mention also has to go to Mariamlisa who plays this writer’s favourite instrument, the cello, to its most mournful potential.The Bollywood part of the proves the most compelling part of the tale, overshadowing a fairly ordinary coming out narrative. However the quality of the singing, the music and the puckish charm of Shafeeq make it a show that is different, rich, and sensual.

 

Queerguru Contributing Editor ANDREW HEBDEN is a MEDIA and cultural STUDIES graduate spending his career between London, Beijing, and NYC as an expert in media and social trends. As part of the expanding minimalist FIRE movement, he recently returned to the UK and lives in Soho. He devotes as much time as possible to the movies, theatre, and the gym. His favorite thing is to try something (anything) new every day