Interview with Kuljit Bhamra

Can you tell us a little bit about your show Chutney?  Tell us about how it came into development?

Chutney In The Street! (its new title!) is a 30 minute street performance with a troupe of eight performers and musicians who tell a story about a princess who falls in love with a stranger. He breaks the spell that the demon had cast over her and wins her love by dancing and teaching the villagers (the audience!) to dance.

The project development was funded by XTRAX and sought to explore the music of the Indo-Caribbean. My personal experience of performing has been limited mostly to indoor venues and concert environments. One of the challenges that we wished to address was how that experience could be brought to a ‘street theatre project’.

As someone who has spent his career writing, making, producing and recording music for a variety of mediums what did you feel were the challenges of bringing a musical show to the streets?

I had quite a few issues to consider: firstly, my own involvement and whether I would need to be involved as a performer (I walk with a stick due to a poliio attack when I was young and was concerned about traversing miles of roadway and pedestrian areas!). Otherwise, my main concern was how to tell a story to a passing audience as opposed to a ‘captured audience’ in a venue. If the final performance involved a parading troupe, how could the narrative be designed with integrity.

Did you enjoy the process of making and performing an outdoor show?

I loved the whole process! I was lucky that my favourite musicians and performers were keen to be involved. I hand-picked them from west end shows that I had been involved with over the years. They’re all talented, professional, and a joy to work with.

Your career has been influential in helping to bring Asian music to the mainstream. Do you feel Chutney was successful in bringing Asian music to new audiences? How do you think it was received?

From the feedback we have received, people really like the show. We have pressed some promo cds of the songs from the show, and sometimes I can gauge the response by how many cds we sell after each performance! It’s not the best way of doing this I suppose, but it gives an indication. The most delightful moments are when Trinidadians and Guyanese members of the audience come and speak to us after the shows. They really feel validated and are thrilled that their music is being heard!

You have recently taken Chutney to Australia, Can you tell us how you got the opportunity to go out there?

Soon after performing at the Stockton International Riverside Festival last year, I received an email from Bridget Bantick who runs the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. She said that she was very impressed with our performance at Stockton and would like to invite us to perform at MICF’s 25^th anniversary… and that was it!

How do your experiences of performing in the UK compare with performing in Australia? What do you feel the main differences are between the UK and Australian festival circuits?

Our show includes a strong audience involvement. The Melbourne audiences initially seemed very reserved and reluctant to participate – even though they were really enjoying the performance! After a couple of performances, we decided to adjust the show to reduce the participation element. However, soon after that the children in the audience didn’t share the same reservations as their parents! We aimed the participatory moments at them, and immediately, we were having over a hundred kids joining in. Their parents enjoyed filming them with their mobile phones!

It’s known that there is a focus to promote and bring more culturally diverse work to Australia. How did you feel you were received as predominantly Indian cast?

I like to feel that we were received well. It’s quite rare to have an Indian troupe perform at such venues, and this might have been a surprise for many (albeit a ‘nice’ surprise). During other times when we weren’t performing, it was apparent that we were generally the only Indians in the bars that we frequented. However, the people were friendly and accommodating.

What’s next on your schedule? Do you plan on touring Chutney more? Any plans to develop more outdoor work?

Recently, we performed at Fusion Asia in Bracknell and at XTRAX’s own Platform 4 Festival in Manchester. We haven’t really done any focussed marketing thus far and I am keen to create an information pack with pictures and videos that we can send out to potential clients. We will work on this over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, we can rally some more interest for the season next year…