Dynamic show at Warwick Arts Centre is a real foot-tapper

IF you need a last blast of summer sun before the winter dampens your spirits, this is the show for you.

Twinkle, (Surrinder Singh Parwana, aka Shin from well-known band DCS), leaves his new wife Jussi (Sohm Kapila) and the Punjab for Southall in its race-torn heyday. It’s 1977 and Margaret Thatcher’s rise is the obsession.

Twinkle, born to sing, meets Rocky (Michael Taibi), who finds him a job driving buses, but soon they are invited to sing at Indian weddings. At their first, he gives all his earnings to deserted bride Shinde (Natasha Jayetileke). She makes good use of it by investing in a recording company which makes stars of Twinkle and Rocky. But Shinde’s record empire demands fresh talent. Enter rapper DJ Lovely (Rakesh Boury) who re-mixes Twinkle’s songs without so much as a nod to their creator.

Meanwhile, back In India, Jussi waits to join him. Then, inevitably, he’s on tour and she’s left at home. No children arrive, a great sadness for them both. But it’s never that simple, and despite his promises, his fling with a young fan produces his only son and musical heir Jason (Jason Denton), Shinde’s next find. The story comes full circle as his fledgling career rejuvenates Twinkle’s. The finale is Shinde’s sumptuous awards ceremony, Britain’s got Bhangra, at which her dubious practices are exposed and Twinkle is back on track.

This show is a real foot-tapper: amazing, infectious, dynamic, and energetic. To quote Shin, “Bhangra music has so much to offer ... there’s a story to be told and we’re telling it”.

Jane Howard