EXCLUSIVE
A new
British musical
about
where we
are now
Gurinder Chadha and Sonia Friedman on what inspired them to tackle Bend It Like Beckham The Musical
nitially I resisted the suggestion to give Bend It Like Beckham a musical treatment, but as time went on I realised how significant I thought the film had been in terms of race relations in this country, the presence of the Asian community and how very little came after it that celebrated who we are as a nation in the same way. I had been deeply moved by Billy Elliot the Musical and loved how it had crystallised a particular moment in history, so I began to reconsider.
Developing Bend it Like Beckham for the stage, has been the most enjoyable creative process of my career so far. What I have been very lucky to do, is to surround myself with people who I think are exceptional, at not only being at the top of their game, but who completely understand what we are trying to do. What you will see in Bend It Like Beckham is the result of 4 years’ worth of collaboration: multiple workshops with musicians, actors, dancers and of course footballers.
Our ambition, is to create a totally new British musical, with a different musical language. A musical that speaks to us of today, the last 30, 40 years of Britain and of where we are as a nation. The Asian influences that are there are basically Punjabi West London – those that I have grown up with – fused with West End musical influences.
A totally new British musical that speaks to us of today and of where we are as a nation
What we are trying to do is make a stakehold for those of us who believe we live in a brilliant nation that is all the better for being as diverse and as interesting culturally as it is, and that it isn’t just one community that has created this.”
Gurinder Chadha, Writer and Director
hy Bend It Like Beckham? And why now? Well, there doesn’t feel like a better time for this show. For me, it speaks to where we are here in the UK right now. The history of these islands is of diverse communities coming to settle here, seeking a better life for themselves and their children and in doing so enriching the tapestry that we like to call Society. So it is a tale of hope and making dreams come true.
But it is not just about one generation pitching up upon these shores, it is about their children whose aspirations are subtly changed by growing up here as young Asian Britons. Mrs Bhamra may want her daughter to master making a decent dhal, but her daughter wants to play football for England. That does not mean she wants to turn her back on her culture or her community. She wants both, but to achieve that may take some nifty footwork. The show then is about the fulfilment and give and take, tolerance and an understanding that nothing ever stands still.
But the last thing you can call this show is worthy. Gurinder Chadha’s brilliant film (co-written by Paul Mayeda Berges) is a raucous and funny story about girls doing it for themselves, it’s a love story, and a story of friendship, of the pangs of growing up and, for the parents, the pangs of losing their daughters as they choose husbands and careers that will take them away from a family home their parents have spent a lifetime building.
So the show is for all generations: parents and growing teens. And that is reflected in the newly composed sound. With Charles Hart (Phantom, Aspects Of Love) and arguably one of our greatest composers, Howard Goodall (The Hired Man) at the helm for lyrics and music (who I first fell in love with when I saw his Girlfriends as a teenager) plus the pioneer of British Bhangra sound, composer and performer Kuljit Bhamra, we have created a score for all ages, an East-West fusion of bhangra and soaring joyous melodies. The songs are by turns hilarious and touching, lyrical and rousing, celebratory and even occasionally, reflective. Bend It Like Beckham is a timeless tale of assimilation, how each new generation in an ever-changing world finds itself looking back and forward.
We are fast approaching a General Election, a time when the nation asks itself who are we and what do we want from ourselves? What is our identity? Bend It Like Beckham is an unashamed celebration of what it is to be British, of diversity and difference and the richness and potential of all being on the same team, kicking the same ball and having the same goals!
Why Bend It Like Beckham The Musical? And why now?
For Jess, her parents gave her roots and wings: roots so she knew where she came from, wings so she could learn to FLY!”
Sonia Friedman, Producer
