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One of the latest musicals to hit the West End is an adaptation of the 2002 film Bend It like Beckham, an all-time comedy favourite which will have you laughing all the way through.

The plan to turn the film into a musical was leaked in 2003 and many hoped the musical would hit the West End the following year. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until 2011 that news of a completed script came about and workshops to compose the musical’s score were held in late 2013 and early 2014. After literally years of waiting, on 31 October 2014 it became official that the show would premier in London in May 2015, with tickets being sold as early as November 2014. The musical is directed by Gurinder Chadha – who wrote a book on the musical with her husband Paul Mayeda Berges – with choreography by Aletta Collins, costume design by Katrina Lindsay, set design by Miriam Buether and lighting design by Neil Austin. The score is composed by Howard Goodall and Kuljit Bhamra with lyrics by Charles Hart.

The film – along with My Big Fat Greek Wedding – has always been one of my top feel-good movies so I was ecstatic to hear that a musical was to be released and went to watch it for the first time last night. Sadly, I missed the first few minutes and had to wait until the first song was over to then be escorted to my seat. Whilst waiting, we could watch the musical on a screen and I knew by that first lively and captivating song ‘Glorious/Satnaam Siri’ that I would really enjoy the musical. I found the mixture of Indian traditions and the typical London flair which dominated each song to be symbolic of the lives of many second-generation Indians – or Italians, Greeks or anyone with foreign parents – now living in the UK.

In brief, Bend it Like Beckham is the tale of a young girl Jesminder Bhamra – also known as Jess - who tries to find her place in the world. Jess has strong-minded Punjabi Sikh Indian parents that moved to Hounslow in West London to provide their two daughters with a better life and Jess has to deal with the pressure they place on her to be a perfect respectful daughter and future wife. Her older sister is engaged to a wealthy Indian man yet Jess’ interests are not in men but football. Jess usually plays football casually on the field with her best friend Tony but she quickly discovers there is a girls’ football team – the Hounslow Harriers - in the area when she meets their captain Jules Paxton. The team’s coach, Joe is so impressed with Jess that he puts her on the team. Jess hides this news from her parents and pretends to have a part time job as a cover up for training. For some time it seems like Jess is enjoying her own life as she even scores the winning goal on the team’s first international game in Germany but her ideal world is torn apart when Jules sees Joe and Jess kissing and Jess’ parents unravel the truth and forbid her to continue football. Jess is forced to choose between her family and her dream of playing football as she strives, just like her sister and Tony, to find her identity somewhere between Indian tradition and British culture.

I found the musical’s staging to be impeccable throughout the show. Both Jess’ and Jules’ bedrooms would hover in the air when needed whilst the centre stage would switch from being a beautifully lit religious home to a vividly green football field. Some of my favourite actors were the girls that made up the Hounslow Harriers team and I adored their choreography which integrated football skills into a lively dance routine. The more traditional Indian dances were also amazing and each actors successfully performed with vitality and excitement throughout the show. I really believe that the cast made the musical and gave everyone in the audience an opportunity to truly connect with them, both when they were happy and sad, in order to fully experience what it takes to realise your dreams.

Image: http://media.ticketmaster.co.uk/tm/en-gb/dbimages/51156a.jpg