CRAZY! PITCH ASIANS? By Irvine Iqbal & Rachel Collins

Photo: Chris Gardner

We’ve all heard the clichés of an Asian Family. Is he going to be a Doctor? Is she going to be a Lawyer? “No, she’s going to be in stage musicals…” After the initial shock, this bombshell could prompt the question, “What is a musical”? “Well, it’s like a Bollywood movie Auntie but the actors are actually singing live on stage.”

Except this conversation was at the start of this millennium, before Auntie went to see Bombay Dreams six times in 2002 and became a seasoned theatre goer. We all know the danger of the cognitive shortcuts that we call stereotypes. And we all know that they can be limiting.

When the musical Phantom of The Opera opened in 1986, Stilgoe and Lloyd Webber overlooked one significant character from the original book. Gaston Leroux’s gothic novel spoke of “The Persian’ whose character assisted the Phantom’s escape, notably played by Arthur Edmond. The character of the Persian was removed entirely from the musical. We don’t know why; however, one theory would suggest that in 1986 who could have played this part?

Why is this an important question? Because, most characters in musicals have been written for white actors by white writers. Musical theatre suffers from a dearth of characters specifically from Asian ethnic backgrounds. And worse, when Asian characters have existed, historically, they’ve been written out, given the ‘brownface’ treatment or have been dreadful stereotypes, such as ‘peddle pushing con men’ like Ali Hakim in Oklahoma.

An early example of Brownface can be seen in Annie the movie musical (1982), starring Albert Finney and Carol Burnett. Here, Geoffrey Holder played the character of ‘Punjab’. Distinctly an Indian sounding character name, only to be portrayed by a black actor, dressed up as a British Victorian butler wearing a ‘Sikh’ paag (turban). An insulting stereotype; prevalent during this period and redundant to the narrative; as we don’t see this character in modern day revivals.

So, where are the iconic ‘Asian’ characters from musical theatre? There are none. The closest example we have is Yul Bruynner in The King and I; clearly Yellowface in casting. If you think this is a thing of the past, in 2019, we are still witnessing Brownface. The current revival of Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat has seen the stunt casting of Jason Donovan as The Pharaoh; clearly a white actor playing an Egyptian.

Yes, it looked as though things were about to change in 2002, when the West End and regional theatre saw an increase in South Asian musicals. Along with Bombay Dreams, there was Britain’s Got Bhangra and Bend it like Beckham. Suddenly there seemed to be commercial value in this new genre of musical. However, the excitement felt by the Asian community was short lived.

The Asian characters featured in modern day musicals like ‘Everybody’s Taking about Jamie’ still seem to be the exception rather than the rule. When Asian ethnic groups are the second largest group in Britain (in terms of percentage) why would we not ensure that our theatres reflect this demographic and see that musicals proportionately cast Asian actors. Isn’t this the world we live in today? It’s increasingly clear that audiences are becoming more and more diverse and expect to see themselves reflected on our stages.

With producers commissioning ‘Diversity Stage Reports’ (Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation) and Lloyd Webber himself stating that, “the stage should reflect the population or risk becoming sidelined” why is this still an issue?

There is one school of thought here; that the diverse talent just isn’t there. However, talent is readily available and has been showcased in previous successful productions. So why are those talents so often overlooked? British Asian talent in particular continues to be ignored. If we don’t see ourselves represented on the stage how can there be any representation?

There is a burning obligation for new writers, composers, directors and producers who can cater for this new audience and rise above the cries of those still living in the past, shouting: “There is no ethnic talent available”.

Prevalent in recent years, the term BAME has found its way into the casting arena as another lazy piece of jargon. Defining actors from Black, Asian and ‘other’ Minority Ethnic backgrounds; BAME is meant to show solidarity. But it creates a divide with other ethnicities by its very own definition. We need to be more inclusive; keeping the stage door open for a Rainbow Stage.

Producers have tried to tick diversity boxes. The idea of putting two black actors in a production to demonstrate a balanced cast can be counterproductive, preventing other people of colour not being considered. The collective frustration of the British Asian talent out there comes from not being able to have a meeting or audition to showcase their talents.

In Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Phantom of the Opera, only one actor of colour (Ramin Karimloo) has played The Phantom in 35 years of staging in the UK. Is this proportionate or even reasonable considering the surplus of talent available?

It’s time to level the playing field. Allow the diverse talent out there into the room, and let them show what they can do. In 2019, there can be no excuses. British Asian Talent is in surplus. We have a well trained and experienced generation standing in the wings; this includes actors currently performing in commercial and regional musicals. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you that generation...

Main Picture Left to Right:

Sejal Keshwala: [Training: Guildford School of Acting] Sejal is currently playing Ray in Everybody’s Taking About Jamie. Other credits include: Bend it Like Beckham, My Fair Lady and Bernstein’s Mass. Raj Ghatak: [Training: Central School of Speech and Drama] Raj created the role of Sweetie in the Original Cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bombay Dreams in the West End, for which he was nominated for Best Actor, and also Best Supporting Performance in a Musical. Other musicals include: Soho Cinders (Best New Musical Nomination), and the World Premiere of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Raj recently won Best Actor for his performance in the Kite Runner. Raj is about to appear in the World Premiere stage adaptation of Life of Pi. Katie Singh: [Training: Laine Theatre Arts] Katie recently performed in Aladdin at The Prince Edward Theatre. Other credits include West Side Story and Beauty and The Beast. Tim Mahendran: [Training Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts] Tim is currently playing Franciosi in the musical & Juliet. Other credits include: Spring Awakening and The Midnight Gang. Luke Latchman: [Training: The Arts Educational School] Luke is currently playing Sayid in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie covering the lead role of Jamie. Kayleigh Thadani: [Training: Guilford School of Acting] Kayleigh is currently performing in Aladdin at The Prince Edward Theatre. Other credits include: Puttin on the Ritz and Blues Brothers. Blythe Jandoo: [Training: The Arts Educational School] Blythe is currently performing in Aladdin at The Prince Edward Theatre covering the lead role of Princess Jasmine. Other credits include: The Wizard of Oz, Starlight Express, Follies and Peter Pan. Nathan Amzi: [Training: The Urdang Academy] Nathan is currently starring in Jesus Christ Superstar at The Barbican. Other credits include: Heathers, Aladdin, In the Heights, Urinetown, Rock of Ages, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Miss Saigon. Jamal Andreas: [Training: The Urdang Academy] Jamal starred in Bend it Like Beckham at The Phoenix Theatre playing the role of Tony. Other credits include: Legally Blonde, Hair, Ragtime and Tiger Bay. Sabrina Sandhu: [Training: The Television Workshop] Sabrina is currently playing Pritti Pasha in Everybody’s Taking About Jamie. Nikita Johal: [Training at PPA Guildford] Nikita played the lead role of Selma in Broken Wings. Recent credits include: Spring Awakening and The Snow Queen. Irvine Iqbal: [Training at The Royal Academy of Music and was awarded Associate in 2017] Irvine is currently playing The Sultan in Aladdin at The Prince Edward Theatre other credits include: Bombay Dreams, The Far Pavilions, Bend it Like Beckham, Little Shop of Horrors, Broken Wings, The Infidel, The Mahabharata and Mr Stink.