Theatre for all

That is to make some pretty broad judgements about the audience of the Yorkshire Post, of the West Yorkshire Playhouse and of Rifco: but it’s a judgement based on personal experience and what I’ve witnessed in the decade I’ve been watching Rifco. In 2006 the London-based theatre company Rifco brought Meri Christmas to the West Yorkshire Playhouse, the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between the company and the Leeds venue.

I remember being surprised to come across the title in the Playhouse brochure: Meri, a word that appears in Urdu and Hindi, meaning ‘mine’. It was rare, even just a decade ago, to see something that was so blatantly aimed at an Asian theatre-going audience. The show was so culturally specific and, importantly, well supported by a largely Asian audience.

Knowing Rifco as I do and its history is also why I feel confident making the broad judgements about the company and its audiences that I began this article by making. The truth is, when a Rifco show rolls into town, it is something really quite extraordinary. The West Yorkshire Playhouse suddenly becomes a far more diverse... okay, look, I’m going to stop dancing around the issue. When Rifco comes to Leeds, the Playhouse has way, way more Asian and black faces in the audience then I ever normally see.

It’s yet another example of the adage that if you build it, they will come. The brains behind Rifco, Pravesh Kumar, has been speaking to me in recent months about a concern he has about the lack of diversity in theatre critic circles.

Not only was I one of the last full-time theatre critics on a regional newspaper, I am particularly rare in that I am not white or middle class, which are qualities that most leading theatre critics share.

Kumar believes this homogeneity means sometimes the purpose and nuance of the work of Rifco is missed. It’s not as though you need to be Asian to understand the company’s work, but the truth is if you have been raised in a culturally specific background then the specificity of some of Rifco’s work will mean more to you than if you haven’t.

Since Meri Christmas, Rifco has returned to the West Yorkshire Playhouse with shows including Britain’s Got Bhangra, The Deranged Marriage and Laila The Musical. Next week the company is back with its latest show, one which has garnered impressive reviews on its national tour so far and one which sounds like perhaps its most controversial yet. Written by Harvey Virdi, Miss Meeda and the Masala Queens is inspired by the British Asian drag queen community. Kumar says: “I always planned that Rifco would tour a play that puts LGBTQ issues at the centre of the story. As a British Asian theatre-maker, it’s always been really important to me that we continue to tell untold stories and give unrepresented voices a platform.”

Long may it continue.

Miss Meena and the Masala Queens, West Yorkshire Playhouse, June 13-17.