Diwali Story – The Journey of Ram – Wembley Arena
Large scale show telling the story of Diwali comes to the capital venue for just the one-time for now…
NOTHING as large as this has ever been mounted in recent times – and it is a major statement of belief, endeavour and confidence to mount a production that aims to fill Wembley Arena in London on Sunday (September 27).
Nitin Palan MBE is the man behind ‘Diwali Story: The Journey of Ram’.
In our video interview with the creatives (see below), Palan explained why he wanted to create this show – which is essentially, a play in English with music.
It starts with a young boy asking his grandparents about the significance of Diwali and what it all means.
Last year Palan mounted a similar production at the Royal Albert Hall and it was more of a community production and on a much smaller scale – this time, the main cast are all professional actors; and the supporting cast and dancers are professional or aspiring to be and are all relatively young.
Palan said: “From the beginning, I wanted ‘Diwali Story’ to do two things at the same time: give audiences the quality of a professional arena production, while creating a stage on which our wider community can genuinely participate.
“Last year’s Royal Albert Hall production showed us the appetite families have for seeing this story brought to life. Wembley isn’t simply that production moved into a bigger building. The show has been substantially reimagined for an arena with new theatrical vision with new writing, new music, new choreography and a much larger company. We are building on what began at the Royal Albert Hall and creating something new for Wembley. “
Palan has been involved in shaping the narrative and brought in experienced musical theatre producer-writer-director Sâmir Bhamra from Phizzical (an award winning theatre outfit of which Bhamra is founder and leads) to help with the story, staging and production.
The music is pre-recorded and there are 11 tracks specially composed by famous composer Rahul Ranade in India.
Bhamra talks about (in our video interview) how as a non Hindu but someone deeply immersed in Indian and South Asian culture, he came to the story and helped Palan create his vision.
CThe scale is exhilarating, but directing for an arena is more making everything bigger.
“My challenge is finding intimacy inside a space holding thousands of people. I want the child sitting at the back of Wembley Arena to feel as connected to (Lord), (Ma) Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman as the family sitting in the front row. That means finding the human beings inside the epic. Ram is a son faced with an impossible decision. Sita’s courage is repeatedly tested. Lakshman’s loyalty has consequences. Raavan is brilliant, powerful and ultimately destroyed by the choices he makes.”
Ranade has worked with one of India’s most popular singers – Kavita Krishnamurti in composing some of the songs and music.
“To work with an artist of Kavita Krishnamurti’s stature is incredibly special.
“Her voice carries a musical history recognised across generations, and that is particularly meaningful for a production which is itself about stories and values travelling from one generation to the next. The ambition is for the music to work on an arena scale without losing the emotional detail of the story. Spectacle can fill a space, but a melody still has to reach one person at a time,” Ranade explained.
Joining the powerhouse of creative talent are movement directors Shruti Shah and husband Rohan, who run the Bollywood Dance School UK and who have also had an input into the narrative and the staging.
“’The Ramayana‘ contains enormous emotional contrasts: love and separation, celebration and grief, devotion, courage, doubt and ultimately homecoming.
“The opportunity with ‘Diwali Story’ is to give each of those worlds its own movement vocabulary and yet make sure the choreography and fight direction all excite audiences. We have an extraordinary professional cast at the centre of the production. Working with over 100 community performers, some who have been entrusted to play key roles, shows ‘The Ramayana’ has always been carried from one generation to another,” she extolled.
Palan also worked with Bhavini Sheth in shaping this Wembley production – which places emphasis on what happens after (Lord) Ram and Sita’s return to Ayodhya and what values it carries through to the modern age and contemporary Britain.
Further exploring the story and the role of Goddess Lakshmi – she said she wanted to delve beneath ideas of wealth and prosperity.
“I therefore explored prosperity as something deeper than material wealth: hope, courage, forgiveness, generosity and love.
My late Dadi (Grandmother), who embodied those values with quiet grace and was a great inspiration for me. I hope families leave inspired to carry that light into their own homes.”
For the young performers, the opportunity to play leading roles in a production of this scale has been thrilling and inspiring – leading as Ram is Kiran Kaanan, alongside Sita (Bhavithra Gananathan).
Kaanan told us how (in our video interview) how he got into character and what he believes Lord Ram embodies. He also shared his acting journey and how he found a calling in performing.
Gananthan shared that it was her dream role as she has been inspired by the example of Sita for a very long time – a time before she even thought of acting.
The other principle actors are Aarya Singh as Lakshman; Pavan Maru as Dasharath & Hanuman and Robin Ravi as Raavan.
Also in supporting roles are Charlotte Barnes as Kaikeyi and Vali; Rukmini Sircar as Manthara; Shabari as Mandodari; Vanshika Mitter as Shoorpanakha, Prem Rai as Bharat and Sugreev; Bhavini Sheth as Baa and Lakshmi; Abhishek Gadhvi as Shiva and Bapuji; Chinmay Khandwala as Vibhishan and the story starts with 16-year-old Luv (Dhrushil Vekaria) asking about the significance of Diwali and Lord Ram’s story. It will be Vekaria’s first professional acting role.
The show is supported by Sanatan Events, in partnership with The Palan Foundation and Golden Tours.
Listing
‘Diwali Story’ by Nitin Palan, Bhavini Sheth and Sâmir Bhamra at Ovo Wembley Arena, Arena Square, Engineers Way, Wembley Park, Wembley HA9 0QA. Performance: 6.15pm, doors open: 4.30pm, Sunday, September 27. 2 hours 55 minutes with an interval
Tickets here – https://diwalistory.com/
All pictures are screenshots from our video as above…
