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Apollo Victoria Theatre: Previewed 31 May, Opened 19 June 2002, Closed 13 June 2004

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Musical with music by A R Rahman and lyrics by Don Black with book by Meera Syal. Directed by Steven Pimlott with designs by Mark Thompson, choreography by Antony van Laast and Farah Khan, lighting by Hugh Vanstone and sound by Mick Potter. Based on an idea by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Shekhar Kapur. Produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and The Really Useful Theatre Company.

The story of Bombay Dreams is one of universal themes – dreams and ambitions, the desire to accomplish and the importance of culture and roots. And at its heart it is a love story set against the backdrop of the colourful and magical Indian movie industry – “Bollywood” - in Bombay, a city of stark contrasts where romantic fantasy and harsh reality live side by side.

This production was nominated twice at the 2003 Olivier Awards - for 'Best New Musical' and 'Best Costume Designer' (Mark Thompson).

The CD Bombay Dreams is available to buy from amazon.co.uk.

News about the show

On 24 November 1999: Rumours have started up about a new Andrew Lloyd Webber project: Bombay Dreams - an Indian 'Bollywood' film style stage musical, after seeing the three-hour epic Taal (in Hindi and without subtitles) recently at a North-West London cinema, he is quoted as saying "I'm utterly taken with Indian melodies."

On 7 March 2000: At a press conference held in Bombay the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has confirmed that he is planning a new musical, Bombay Dreams, based on Bombay in India and inspired by an Indian film song showing villagers singing and dancing on the roof of a speeding train.
He plans to team up with Indian music director A.R. Rehman and film director Shekhar Kapur - the musical will premiere in London's West End, but no further details have been announced.

On 22 February 2001: It has been reported that Andrew Lloyd Webber has engaged the services of Don Black to write the lyrics for his 'Bollywood' musical Bomday Dreams which he is producing. Meera Syal is writing the book and the music will be by AH Rahman while the film maker Shekhar Kapur is expected to oversee the project.

On 21 August 2001: It was announced last night that Andrew Lloyd Webber's long running musical Starlight Express at the Apollo Victoria Theatre will close on 12 January 2002 - after a run of just under 18 years, and 7,406 performances.
The next production at the Apollo Victoria Theatre is expected to be the new musical Bombay Dreams written by AR Rahman, Don Black and Meera Syal and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. But before it opens the theatre will need some extensive internal refurbishment to remove the skating track used for Starlight Express - the 2,500 seat theatre had 1,000 seats removed to make way for the track.

On 5 February: It was confirmed that Bombay Dreams will open at the Apollo Victoria Theatre on 19 June 2002, following previews from 31 May - tickets are now on sale.

On 14 March 2002: To accommodate the skating track that went around the Apollo Victoria Theatre's auditorium for the musical Starlight Express, a number of seats where removed - reducing the theatre's seating capacity to 1524. Now that Starlight Express has closed, and the track removed, those seats have been put back for the next musical, Bombay Dreams, that starts previews at the theatre on 31 May 2002. A total of 684 seats have been put back, increasing the theatre's capacity to 2208 - making it the third largest central West End theatre in terms of seating capacity (after Drury Lane with 2237 seats and the London Palladium with 2298 seats). London's West End theatres

On 21 March 2002: On Sunday 24 March 2002, the television programme The South Bank Show is featuring the actress, novelist and screenwriter Meera Syal - Meera has written the book for the new musical Bombay Dream and so the television programme may provide a glimpse behind the scenes of this eagerly awaited nwe musical. The South Bank Show: Sunday 24 March, ITV1, 10.45pm to 11.50pm.

On 12 June 2002: The musical Bombay Dreams will be the subject of a special Omnibus documentary to be broadcast on television in the UK on 18 June. Titled Spotlights and Saris: Making Bombay Dreams the 60 minute programme charts the development of Bombay Dreams, from its conception in 1999 to the start of dress rehearsals in May 2002. Bombay Dreams is a fusion of theatre and Bollywood traditions and the programme asks whether the climate in London's West End is right for such an ambitious mix of styles: Spotlights and Saris: Making Bombay Dreams: BBC1 Tuesday 18 June 2002, 10.35pm to 11.35pm.

On 22 July 2002: A new six month booking period covering performances from 1 October 2002 to 30 March 2003 was announced.

On 5 November 2002: At the annual London Evening Standard Theatre Awards this production was shortlisted in one category: Best Musical. The winners will be announced on Monday 25 November 2003. Click here for the full shortlist...

On 11 December 2002: Bombay Dreams celebrated its 200 performance tonight.

On 13 December 2002: A new seven month booking period covering performances from 1 April to 26 October 2002 was announced - tickets for these performances go on sale from Monday 16 December 2002. Since opening in June this year the musical has sold over £10million of tickets and the show has been seen by over 350,000 people. It is planned that the song 'Love's Never Easy' from the musical - sung by Preeya Kalidas - will be released as single in February 2003.

On 16 January 2003: This production received 2 nominations at the 2003 Olivier Awards for 'Best New Musical' and 'Best Costume Designer' (Mark Thompson). The winners will be announced on Friday 14 February 2003. Click here for the full list of nominations...

On 24 March 2004: It has been reported that the musical Bombay Dreams at the Victoria Apollo Theatre has posted closing notices for Sunday 13 June 2004, after a run of two years - the musical had been booking up to the end of September 2004. A revised version of the musical is scheduled to open on Broadway in April 2004 and it has been reported that the show's producers, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group, hope to use this revised version to launch a UK regional tour prior to bringing the musical back into London's West End, in a smaller theatre than the current Apollo Victoria Theatre, late 2005.

Extracts from the reviews:

"...Once you enter the spirit, the show, cannily produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is a delight. And it brings to a mainstream audience the astounding musical talent of A R Rahman... Rahman's riffs, Westernised ragas and thumping, rhythmically shifting chorales, with beautiful little vocal variations and wrenching key changes worthy of Lloyd Webber himself at his best, is continuously beguiling. Steven Pimlott's energetic production has wonderful choreography... The slums of Bombay are threatened by movie moguls, and the lad who escaped has to save them in the guise of his fantasy film persona. These twists at least are well served by Miss Syal. And the lyrics of Don Black do their usual professional job. The show, beautifully designed by Mark Thompson with coloured saris, fountains, and Bombay lights, takes a nice dig at My Fair Lady on the way, too." The Daily Mail

"... Though there is much to admire in Bombay Dreams - notably Rahman's wonderfully fresh, exciting and sometimes yearningly romantic score, in which traditional Indian sounds are brilliantly combined with the beats of modern dance music - there is much more that disappoints. Musicals finally stand or fall with the book, and Meera Syal's script is a mess... she fails to find a consistent tone. Embarrassingly laboured jokes are combined with depressingly underpowered melodrama... Don Black's lyrics are slickly professional, but rarely rise to either wit or beauty, and director Steven Pimlott often allows the action to drag disgracefully... Anthony Van Laast's choreography is energetic rather than inspired, but it is at least blessed with with a sense of spectacle and vigour. The highlight comes during the wondrous candyfloss pop of Shakalaka Baby in which the whole cast is drenched by fountains. But look and listen out, too, for the trance-like Chaiyya Chaiyya, sung in Hindi and with the young cast performing with bubbling vitality on a revolving wall..." The Daily Telegraph

"What a weird and wonderful hybrid this new Bollywood musical is! It's based on an idea by Shekhar Kapur and Andrew Lloyd Webber... With its lavish sets, huge dance numbers and West End pazazz, it has Lloyd Webber's paw prints all over it. The music and spicy Asian flavour, though are provided by AR Rahman... The script - with its tongue practically through its cheek - is by comedy writer Meera Syal with lyrics by Don Black who did Sunset Boulevard... It is a big Asian panto with a vast cast, but the show comes with a vibrancy that, at its best, is thrilling. There are fine ballads and pop numbers... You may find the jokes limp a bit and the story laughable, but the show throbs with an infectious rhythm to Rahman's varied score... It is great fun, both funky and romantic and , above all, it is a breath of fresh air in a West End dominated by has-been musicals." The Express

"...Bombay Dreams may have the right ingredients, but the whole samosa is less than the sum of its parts. It suffers from an uncertain tone, an identity crisis that isn't much of a drama. The show leaves one unmoved despite all the colour and movement – and there isn't even enough of that. Meera Syal's book has plenty of tart lines... But she is less successful at the big, heartfelt emotion this kind of show needs, settling instead for unconvincing sentimentality... The dances are repetitious, the hip-shaking, head-waggling movements quickly losing their novelty, and never enlarging character or furthering plot. Indian costumes can knock your eye out when you walk down any Bombay street, but Mark Thompson's saris look as if they climbed out of the bargain bin. Raza Jaffrey and Preeya Kalidas are perfectly adequate as the leads, but were obviously chosen for their looks and physical grace rather than any acting or singing talent. It's a shame that this potentially thrilling subject is crippled by formula and mediocrity..." The Independent