ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the productions by Rifco Arts, and Bend It Like Beckham: the musical, which are situated in the Punjabi communities in Britain, and use Bhangra music and dance in a variety of ways as a marker of identity of British Asian-ness. The theatre productions become a form of representation of the communities, most particularly the Punjabi communities, and Bhangra is a means of reinforcing this representation. Rifco has played an important part in the development of popular theatre aimed at British South Asian audiences, depicting life in contemporary Britain and using Bollywood and Bhangra music and dance. The chapter offers a contextualisation of the company and artistic director Pravesh Kumar to demonstrate how the company style and ethos were established, as well as the close connections with previous South Asian productions and artists. The changes to British Bhangra music are the foundation for the presentation of the story of South Asians in the production.
