Toronto Review: 'Bend it Like Beckham: The Musical' at the Bluma Appel Theatre
Paul Love, Associate Toronto Critic
In 2002, the rom-com sports film Bend It Like Beckham was wowing moviegoers on its way to becoming the highest grossing film about association football. Fast-forward to 2015 when Gurinder Chadha, the main creative force behind the film, found success again with her stage adaptation, ‘Bend It Like Beckham: The Musical’, in London’s West End, where it won the Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical and was nominated for four Oliviers and three Evening Standards. And now Ms. Chadha has brought the show to Toronto for its North American premiere.
The story (which, like the movie, takes place in 2001) revolves around 18-year-old Jess (Laila Zaidi), the youngest of two daughters in a Punjabi Sikh family living in London, England. Jess is obsessed with football, and she develops her abilities playing pick-up games with male friends whenever she gets the chance. She is offered a chance to try out for a highly skilled women’s team and wins a spot on the team. Her parents are very entrenched in cultural traditions, so Jess, knowing that they would not approve of her playing for a football team, attempts to keep that fact a secret. The musical addresses many social issues—gender inequality, racism, the clash of modern values with traditional ones, and the importance of family.
Visually speaking, this production is stunning. Sean Mulcahy’s costumes are boldly coloured and really give a sense of place and/or culture. The traditional Indian wedding outfits are a feast for the eyes. Random sports jerseys scattered amid crowd scenes gives a real sense of the sports-focused nature of London.
Set designer Sue LePage’s set pieces contribute depth to the action—the large, colourful stalls add to the lively atmosphere of the market scenes, and conversely, the bedroom sets for Jess and Jules have a very cozy, lived-in feel to them. The projected images created by Chokolate Vision work really well in fantastical moments like soccer balls spinning in space, and they allowed for some unique visual moments, like the mixture of moving images projected on the rear scrim and the mid-stage scrim intertwining with the movements of the performers during the wedding scene. However, the show relies a little too heavily on the projections. They even get in the way at times; the scene where this is most apparent occurs when the football team is suiting up for the final game. Unfortunately for the audience, Catarina Ciccone, who plays team captain Jules, is completely obscured by a projection of football netting.
The odd thing about the songs in this opening night production is that not one of them has a catchy hook to it that will have you humming the song as you leave the theatre, yet most of the songs work well in their own context for the sake of story development and/or projecting the emotional impact of a situation.
It is in the performances where this show really soars. Laila Zaidi portrays Jess with such an earnest, heartfelt honesty that you can’t help but instantly cheer for her. She sings with a soft, nuanced voice that can suddenly explode with power without any loss of quality. Catarina Ciccone gives a bright, energetic performance mated with top-notch singing. Zorana Sadiq and Sorab Wadia play Mrs. Bhamra and Mr. Bhamra, respectively—two characters that could easily have been played as two-dimensional authority figures, but in Ms. Sadiq’s and Mr. Wadia’s hands they are portrayed with such tenderness and concern for Jess, it makes the stakes much more meaningful when Jess is forced to decide between playing football and supporting her family. Nicola Dawn Brook provides some wonderful comedic moments as Jules’s mom, Paula, and then just as effectively tugs at the audience’s heartstrings when she sings about the growing distance between her and Jules. Kudos to Matt Nethersole for his wonderfully comedic performance as Jess’s friend and confidante, Tony.
Special credit must be given to the choreography team of Gino Berti, Daniel Ezralow, Longinus Fernandes, Krystal Kiran, and Claudia Marjanovic for the incredible dancing that weaves its way through the entire production. The dancing is spirited, engaging, and even hypnotic at times, and it greatly enhances the emotional impact of many scenes. The calisthenic-style dance numbers performed by the football team are a particular standout, because they really create a sense of discipline and teamwork among the players, and they are simply entertaining to watch.
Director Madeline Paul deserves credit for staging wonderful scenes of juxtaposition—traditional values versus modern ideas, spirit versus wisdom, and Jess’s desire to play football versus her desire to be committed to her family. The action is always nimble, slowing appropriately for more intimate moments.
There will be an inevitable comparison to the film, and I believe the stage production is the better work here for one very profound reason—we really get to see Jess’s parents’ side of things in a way that is only briefly addressed in the film. With the film, Jess’s parents simply represent the oppressive authority figures, hopelessly clinging to tradition, telling Jess she can’t play football. It’s easy to conclude that they’re wrong and that Jess should play. In the stage production, however, we get more of her parents’ backstory. Her father was the target of racism when they came to England, and he wasn’t allowed to play cricket, which was a long-held dream of his. Her mother is worried that Jess is not prepared to look after a household, and she wants desperately to pass on her knowledge to Jess. Jess’s decisions about her life and her future are much more complicated because we see where her parents are coming from.
If you’re in the mood for an evening of positive energy, humour, and great performances, you’ll want to check out ‘Bend It Like Beckham: The Musica’l. It is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM: THE MUSICAL
Presented by Starvox Entertainment
Runs until Sunday, January 5, 2020, at the Bluma Appel Theatre (part of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts), 27 Front Street East, in Toronto.
Showtimes are mainly Tuesdays to Sundays at 8 pm with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 pm, as well as matinee-only performances on Christmas Eve (1 pm), Boxing Day (2 pm), and New Year’s Eve (2 pm). It is recommended that you check out the website (www.stlc.com) for this and all other show information. You can also call the box office at (416) 366-1656.
The show runs approximately 2 hour and 30 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission.
Writer/Producer: Gurinder Chadha; Book: Paul Mayeda Berges and Gurinder Chadha; Music: Howard Goodall; Orchestrations: Howard Goodall and Kuljit Bhamra; Lyrics: Charles Hart; Director: Madeline Paul; Assistant Director: Christopher Bond; Musical Director: Mark Camilleri; Set Design: Sue LePage; Costume Design: Sean Mulcahy; Lighting Design: Jason Hand; Stage Manager: Matt MacInnis
Performers: Alana Randall, Alene Degian, Asha Vijayasingham, Ashley Emerson, Bianca Melchior, Blythe Jandoo, Catarina Ciccone, Chelsea Preston, Dani Jazzar, Darcy Stewart, Kelsey Lacombe, Krystal Kiran, Laila Zaidi, Lianne Tammi, Matt Nethersole, Meher Pavri, Natasha Strilchuk, Nicola Dawn Brook, Paul Almeida, Penelope Artemis, Rami Khan, Sasha Ghosal, Sorab Wadia, Stephanie Visconti, Suchiththa Wickremesooriya, Will Jeffs, Zorana Sadiq
Poster photo provided by the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts website.