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Six and the city
Mummyji Presents
Birmingham Rep Door
**** MUMMYJI Presents is a hilarious
production giving the Asian talents of Birmingham the opportunity to
showcase their fantastic work and impress the audience. The story itself shows Mummy Ji, a matriarchal
and gloriously funny woman played by Rina Fatina who has one agenda on
her mind – to see her son, Pandesh, (Divan Ladwa) married. She then sets up a talent show style presentation
of six diverse and talented artists to perform in their own unique
style. This is a showcase of British-Asian art forms embedded into a
hilarious Indian storyline. This production is a celebration of the
Indian-Brummie culture. With howls of laughter influenced by the Punjabi
and English language, the light-hearted and typical ‘mum-like’ humour
shown by Fatina was easy for the audience to relate to. Mummy Ji presents six acts for the audience, and
her son, in a celebratory presentation of the diversity of Asian art/ We see local performances ranging from song to
the spoken word. Mummy Ji, much like a show host presenter, holds an
interview with each act as an introduction to what they are about to
perform. This gives the audience an interesting overview of how the art
has become an inspiration. First we are introduced to Rav & Sim, a duo of
performance artists who ooze expression through their dance piece.
Combining classical Indian music and Kathak dance, we are exposed to a
beautiful portrayal of the classical Indian culture. Alisha Yasmin Kadir is a Birmingham based singer
and songwriter with the voice of an angel. In her performance, the
audience are graced by her delightful composition and a wonderful talent
for song. Actress Sukh Ojla gave a humorous performance as
she performed an extract from a one woman British-Asian show that was
set on her wedding day. Following this, performance poet Amerah Saleh
definitely made a point and left lingering thoughts after she performed
her own words in the rap-poetry style recalling her experience in
school. The Giddha Sansaar Dance group bought an upbeat
and vibrant feel to their performance. A team of six women performed a
Giddha piece, which is traditionally danced by women in the Punjab at
social events. Lastly, husband and wife dance duo Sohan and
Aruna as Aashiyana Arts gave us a lively account of a Bollywood dance
piece. This was an inspiring performance to end on and encouraged the
audience to leave with a spring in their step. The show-biz style set gave the impression of
instant entertainment, with flashing lights over Mummy Ji’s lounge and
pink-satin decor showed the audience that this was going to be a night
of celebration and joy for British-Asian art. The set and Fatina herself
went hand in hand, reflecting her exuberant personality and made us
excited for the upcoming performance. Mummy Ji Presents is a night of fun and culture
supporting local performers with a diverse range of art forms to
celebrate as one large community. To 22-11-14 Elizabeth Halpin
20-11-14
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