Frankie Goes To Bollywood - Derby Theatre, Review

★★★★☆

There is no subtle way to talk about Frankie Goes to Bollywood at  Derby Theatre because subtlety is not the point. Rifco Theatre Company’s latest musical offering has enough theatrical excess to power the National Grid. This is a British musical that captures the heightened aesthetics of Bollywood. But can a show that looks to uncover a flawed industry do so using its own melodramatic style? 

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Frankie is a cinema worker in Huddersfield, stuck in a small life while dreaming of the glamour and belonging promised by Bollywood movies. When an opportunity arises for her friend Goldy to audition for a film role, Frankie finds herself swept into the Mumbai film industry instead. Suddenly, she becomes a rising Bollywood star opposite legendary actor Raju King. Frankie climbs rapidly through fame, celebrity culture, and industry politics, only to discover the darker realities beneath the fantasy she grew up idolising.

Many contemporary theatre shows flirt with camp style, but always keep one foot firmly grounded in realism out of fear of seeming “too much.” Here, Frankie Goes to Bollywood embraces all the melodramatic, camp chaos its namesake provides. Andy Kumar and Nicola Mac’s choreography and movement are sensational because they understand that Bollywood dance is emotional storytelling at full volume, as well as being highly decorative. Every movement declares its importance with shameless expression, making them extraordinary to watch. The second half, in particular, erupts into a full theatrical fever dream of colour and cinematic fantasy; the choreography doubles and becomes gloriously excessive.

Rebecca Bower’s set and Philip Gladwell’s lighting must be discussed together because neither works fully without the other. The archways, inspired by Indian architecture, transform into an active storytelling device. In Huddersfield, the palette is flatter and colder; once Frankie enters Bollywood, the arches pulse with saturated golds and pinks, making the stage feel vibrant. More importantly, the lighting frequently mirrors emotional tone and costume palette, creating a visual harmony that makes the production feel technically sophisticated. 

And the costumes? Stunning. Bollywood here is constructed through fabric as much as the set and music. Colourful gowns and jewel-heavy glamour become visual shorthand for status and industry power. The production understands the fascination of fashion in Bollywood culture. One particular highlight was the use of scene backgrounds printed onto three saris that stretched the length of the stage.

Niraj Chag and Tasha Taylor Johnson’s music and lyrics consistently propel character and narrative forward. Their score might not be packed with earworms, but the songs work in the moment. That said, “Be More B.I.T.C.H.” absolutely lands as the undeniable hit of the evening. Marina Lawrence-Mahrra, as understudy for Malika, steals the show with it. It is funny, vicious, self-aware, and gloriously performed. Lawrence-Mahrra’s performance has the kind of star quality audiences instantly lean toward. You would never know this was an understudy performance, and she deservedly walked away with some of the evening’s biggest applause.

Sarah Pearson works incredibly hard as Frankie, with countless dances, costume changes, and a big message to sell to the audience. The character arc from Popcorn Girl in Huddersfield to Bollywood A-lister is a big personality jump, which Pearson sells with devotion, and by the second half, she genuinely looks like a different person. Throw in her sensational vocals and precision dancing, and Pearson is a triple threat to watch out for. 

Katie Stasi’s Goldy becomes the production’s real-life anchor as Frankie disappears deeper into fame. Stasi’s vocals are rich and emotionally transparent in a way that cuts through the spectacle. Meanwhile, Ankur Sabharwal leans into the ridiculous vanity of ageing superstar Raju King, happily allowing himself to become the butt of the joke while still maintaining enough charisma and delusion for the industry to treat him like a god. 

The production’s greatest weakness is unquestionably the script. Pravesh Kumar’s writing is often painfully on-the-nose, with themes and messages delivered so directly they don’t qualify as subtext. Characters frequently announce ideas rather than embodying them. Conversations occasionally feel like thematic bullet points handed directly to the audience. The feminist messaging, while absolutely paramount, is occasionally delivered with such blunt force that scenes stop functioning as drama and start functioning as mission statements. At one point, Frankie openly states that “India has the most cases of domestic violence”, and this is huge, but not tactfully played. 

That said, the obviousness feels strangely authentic to the on-the-nose Bollywood writing. Bollywood cinema deals in archetypes, directness, and clarity in its messages. Frankie Goes to Bollywood inherits both the strengths and weaknesses of that style; whether you find that endearing or frustrating will entirely depend on your tolerance for melodrama.

What cannot be denied is how joyful the evening is. Go in expecting tightly engineered prestige musical theatre, and you may resist its chaos. Go in ready for colour, camp, and theatrical excess for excess’s sake, and this show absolutely wins you over. It may not always be elegant, but it is alive, and that energy is infectious.

Rifco Theatre Company have created a musical that knows precisely what kind of entertainment it wants to be: empowering, ridiculous, glamorous, funny, and emotionally sincere all at once. Frankie may go to Bollywood, but this production deserves to go absolutely everywhere.

The cast of Frankie Goes To Bollywood. Photo Credit: Richard Lakos.