Dishing up a fantastic tale of personal discovery

Featuring songs from the smash hit Bollywood film Sholay, the world première production of comedy drama Dishoom! comes to Oldham next month.

Dishoom! follows Simon and his friends as they find their inner superheroes.

It's summer 1978, Simon and his friends should be looking forward to leaving school, but the National Front are on the streets,

Simon's grandmother, Bibi, is ashamed of him and his Dad spends his life hiding in the pub.

When Simon's cousin Baljit comes to stay, she introduces him to the Bollywood classic, Sholay.

Inspired by the film’s dynamic duo, Jai and Veeru, Simon and Baljit set out to change their world forever.

Rifco Artistic Director Pravesh Kumar directs, and, after working with Rifco Theatre Company over the last year, 17-year-old Bilal Khan makes his professional stage debut in the lead role of Simon.

Bilal himself was born with cerebral palsy and will be taking on the role of a young man with a disability who is struggling to find his place in the world around him.

Director Kumar started Rifco Theatre Company in 1999 to make a different kind of theatre for a community that could not see themselves represented on English stages.  

His theatrical directorial debut was in 1999 with a UK tour of Bollywood - Yet Another Love Story, which opened to packed houses at The Riverside Studios, Hammersmith.

He has gone on to achieve critical acclaim for Rifco’s productions.

His first short film, Gods On Mountains was shot entirely on location in the Himalayas and was nominated for the Satyajit Ray Short Film Award in 2009.

Dishoom! comes to Oldham as part of a national tour, which also includes Watford Palace Theatre, Queens Theatre Hornchurch, Warwick Arts Centre and Derby Theatre.

Dishoom! runs from Tuesday 2 – Saturday October 13 at Oldham Coliseum Theatre.

Tickets can be booked on 0161 624 2829 or at: www.coliseum.org.uk

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