Writer & Director

Pravesh Kumar

Pravesh is the Artistic Director of Rifco Arts. He has worked extensively as a Producer, Director and Writer; making his directorial debut in 1999 with Bollywood 2000 –Yet Another Love Story, which he also wrote. He wrote and directed the hugely successful hit show The Deranged Marriage which toured for three consecutive years. He also wrote and directed There’s Something About Simmy and It Aint All Bollywood. For Rifco Arts he directed Meri Christmas and Where’s My Desi Soulmate?

Pravesh has also worked extensively in Bollywood for many years. He has produced music videos for the album Tere Mere Pyar by UK based artists Partners in Rhyme (Sony Music) - Yeh Kya Hua (Shreya Goshal) and Pehla Yeh Pehla (Kumar Sanu).

Pravesh wrote and directed his first short film Gods On Mountains shot entirely on location in the Himalayas. This film was shortlisted for the Satyajit Ray Film Competition Award 2008. He is currently in preparation for a new musical to be produced as part of The Olympic Word Stages in 2012 by Saddlers Wells and Theatre Royal Stratford East. Pravesh is developing Break the Floorboards a new Bollywood Fusion dance drama for Rifco Arts.

 

Music Composer & Bhangra Director 

Sumeet Chopra

Sumeet Chopra is a British born Composer, Music Producer & Recording Artist who has worked extensively with globally renowned artists such as Alaap, the pioneers of Bhangra music, the early wave of UK Bhangra artists such as Kala Preet, Shava Shava, Premi, Apna Sangeet, as well as performing with legendary Punjabi folksingers such as Kuldip Manak and A.S. Kang.

He is also an established solo artist and has worked with leading British Asian Underground artists such as Talvin Singh, Jonny Kalsi (founder member of The Dhol Foundation) for whom Sumeet produced and composed tracks for TDF's debut album Big Drum Small World, released under Peter Gabriel's Real World Records. It was whilst working on this project that he recorded with Shin (of DCS) and Natasha Atlas.

Recently, Sumeet has been composing for The Panjabi Hit Squad – a successful collaboration which has led to a string of recent hits in the Asian charts featuring Alyssia and Ms Scandalous.  Following on from this, Sumeet has composed fresh tracks featuring the highly renowned Rahet Fateh Ali Khan, Richa Sharma and Krishna Beura for their new release.

 

Musical Supervisor

Mark Collins

Mark is an MD/arranger associated with new British musical theatre writing. Currently, he is Assistant Musical Director on Billy Elliot: the Musical (Victoria Palace). Other projects include co-writing two new recently workshopped musicals with writer/director Phil Willmott, Lost Boys: Neverland Grows Up (Liverpool Playhouse) and Princess Caraboo (Bristol Old Vic).

Theatre includes: MD/Arranger for Britain’s Got Bhangra (2010 UK tour); Deputy Keys/Vocals on Jersey Boys (Prince Edward); Associate Musical Director for La Cage aux Folles (Menier Chocolate Factory); MD/Orchestrator for Grant Olding’s Three Sides (London and New York); MD/Arranger for City of Angels (English Theatre, Frankfurt) and multiple workshops of new writing with Perfect Pitch Musical Development.

Concerts include: Julie Atherton- No Space for Air; A Spoonful of Stiles & Drewe (Her Majesty’s); Notes From New York (Donmar Warehouse Duchess, Arts Theatre, Trafalgar Studios).

TV includes: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? (BBC/ Andrew Lloyd Webber); Life Stories: David Hasselhoff (Piers Morgan/ITV).

English Lyricist

Dougal Irvine

Dougal wrote the book/music/lyrics for his first musical, Departure Lounge, which won the MTM Award for Best Music; was nominated for Best New Musical at the Whatsonstage Theatregoers’ Choice Awards; and has completed runs at the Waterloo East Theatre, Public Theatre (off-Broadway, NY Summer PlayFestival) and the Royal George Theatre, Chicago.

His second musical, In Touch, was developed in association with Perfect Pitch and showcased at Trafalgar Studios.

Dougal was lyricist for Britain’s Got Bhangra (Rifco Arts/Watford Palace Theatre) and composer for Changeling Theatre’s productions of The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Comedy of Errors. His debut album, Acoustic Overtures – the Songs of Dougal Irvine, is out now.

Punjabi Lyricist

Bittu Denowalia

Bittu was born in India and his interest in music and writing began whilst he was studying at college. Whilst developing his writing skills he travelled to Italy to meet the legendary Malkit Singh, who inspired him. In 1994, he moved to the UK and started writing for the Punjab channel.

Choreographer & Costume Design

Andy Kumar

Andy has been a core member of the creative team at Rifco Arts for twelve years as Choreographer and Costume designer, and has worked on Rifco Arts shows Bollywood yet another love story, The Deranged Marriage, There’s Something About Simmy and Britain’s got Bhangra.  Andy was also the Production Designer for Rifco Arts short film Gods on Mountains.

Andy shifted his base to Mumbai seven years ago and has had the opportunity to work as Costume Designer on Films like Tashan (Yashraj Films), Bachna E Haseeno (Yashraj Films), Gajini (Geeta Arts), and Choreograhed films like Page 3 (Lighthouse), Aloo Chaat (Red Ice Films), Nazar (Vishesh Films), James (Ram Gopal Varma). Whilst also choreographing hit music videos such as  Kaliyon Ka Chaman (Universal), Naache naache (Times Music), Yeh kya hua (Sony Music). Andy’s other choreographing credits include fashion shows for premier Indian designers such as Suneet Verma, JJ Vallaya and Nadita Mehtani.

At present Andy is working on a concept for a new Fashion based show to be on air in India later this year.

 

Musical Director

Sean Green

Sean completed a postgraduate diploma in Musical Direction from the Mountview School of Theatre Arts in 2009. His musical direction credits since graduating include Little Red Riding Hood, Five Guys Named Moe, Aladdin (Stratford East Theatre Royal); Buddy (Upstairs at the Gatehouse); Pages: Promised Land (Union Theatre) and the 400th production of Honk! (George Square 1, Edinburgh Festival). He has assisted on I Was Looking at the Ceiling and then I Saw the Sky (joint production between Stratford East and the Barbican); Crazy For You (Eyebrow 48 hour showtime challenge). Most recently he was 2nd keys on the European and UK Tour of Evita for Bill Kenwright and has played keyboards on Whistle Down the Wind (Newcastle) and Peter Pan (Dublin). Alongside the musical direction credits he has also workshopped New Musical Theatre Writing with Stuart Matthew Price and Fanny Hill a new the musical at the Jermyn Street theatre and has taught at both the Mountview School of Theatre Arts and the Guildford School of Acting.

 

Set & Costume Design

Keith Khan

Keith Khan is an artist, director and designer. This show marks Keith’s return to design, following his role as Head of Culture for the London Olympics. Prior to this Keith was the Chief Executive of Rich Mix, completing the capital phase of the project, and opening the building in 2004.

However Keith is best known for his spectacular shows such as Coming of Age and Escapade with Akademi, Alladeen with New York based company The Builders Association, and his work as Director of Design for the Manchester Commonwealth Games. Keith is also known for founding the company motiroti and his inaugural show Moti Roti Puttli Chunni (1993) marked the beginning of his professional relationship with Pravesh Kumar when Pravesh joined the cast as juvenile lead. Keith has recently established Keith Khan Associates, a wide-ranging creative organisation with a variety of international collaborators that will create and deliver design projects and commissions. www.keithkhanassociates.com

Movement Director

Cressida Carre

Training: Northern Ballet School and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Cressida’s choreographic credits include: FRESHER The Musical (Edinburgh Festival); The Hired Man (Landor Theatre); Merlin and the Woods of Time and As You Like It (Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre); Spring Awakening (UK tour); Great Expectations (Palace Theatre, Watford, and UK tour); Cinderella (Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne); The Wind in the Willows (Derby LIVE); Departure Lounge (Waterloo East Theatre); Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (Black Box, Belfast); A…My Name Is Alice (Charing Cross Theatre); A Chorus Line (BAC); Jack and the Beanstalk (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds); Steel Pier (Chelsea Theatre); The Fix (Albany Theatre); Into the Woods (Greenwich Theatre); Before the Night Is Through (Millfield Theatre); Departure Lounge (Edinburgh Festival); The Witches of Eastwick (Albany Theatre); Blues Brothers Unlimited (Centrepoint Theatre, Dubai); Hot Mikado (Chelsea Theatre); Have a Nice Life (Edinburgh Festival); West Side Story (BAC); Lucky Stiff (New Wimbledon Studio Theatre); Peter Pan (Millfield Theatre); The Diary of Me (Harlow Playhouse); Passage of Dreams (Bridewell Theatre); Closer Than Ever (Chelsea Theatre); Godspell (BAC); Kids From Shame (Upstairs at the Gatehouse); Jesus Christ Superstar (Kings Theatre, Portsmouth); Espresso Trasho (Arts Theatre); Dorian (Greenwich Theatre); The Clearing (Tramway Theatre, Glasgow); Still Life (Bridewell Theatre); Dick Whittington (Harlow Playhouse).

As a director, her credits include: Lost Christmas (Trafalgar Studios); Spear (Courtyard Theatre, Hereford); Marry Me a Little (Etcetera Theatre).


Lighting Designer

Peter Harrison

Peter Trained at RADA. His recent lighting designs have included Transluna Paradise (Theatre Ad Infinitum); Orpheus in the Underworld (Royal College of Music); In A Minor Key (Mikhailovsky Ballet, St Petersburg); Rent and Bright Lights, Big City (Bridewell Theatre). Other designs have included The Doubtful Guest for Hoipolloi (Watford Palace, Theatre Royal Plymouth); Wuthering Heights for Tamasha Theatre Company (Lyric Hammersmith and Tour); Snow White and Sleeping Beauty for First Family Entertainment (Richmond Theatre); The Viewing Room (The Arts Theatre, London); Orestes for Shared Experience (Tricycle Theatre and UK Tour).

 

Sound Designer

Andrew Johnson

Andrew has spent the last 14 years working in sound and the last 7 years working in professional theatre as Operator, Production Sound Engineer, Assistant Sound Designer, Associate Sound Designer and Sound Designer.

Theatre credits include: A Clockwork Orange (Theatre Royal Stratford East);West Side Story (HQ, High Wycombe);Midnight Tango (UK Tour 2011); Last Five Years (The Tabbard, London); Company (Southwark Playhouse); Cinderella (Qdos, Hastings); Legacy Falls (New Players); Buddy The Musical (Channel Islands 2010); Departure Lounge (2010); An Evening With Blake, Matt Monro Jnr, Our House, Beauty And The Beast, Hairspray (UK Tour 2010); Britain’s Got Bhangra (UK Tour); End Of The Rainbow (Northampton); Jus’ Like That (UK Tour 2010); Cats (Channel Islands Tour); Les Miserables Concerts, Cacophony (UK Tour 2009);  High School Musical 2 (UK Tour 2009); Rent; Fame (UK Tour 2009); Shout (UK Tour 2008 & West End 2009); Noise Ensemble (UK Tour 2009); The Wedding Singer (UK Tour 2008); Little Shop of Horrors (West End 2007 & UK Tour 2009); Footloose (UK Tour 2006, 2007, 2008 and West End 2006, 2007);  Rent Remixed (West End 2007); Fiddler On The Roof (West End 2007); An Epitaph for George Dillon (Comdey Theatre) Loveshack The Musical (2005).

 

Assistant Director

Celeste Dring

Celeste graduated from Cambridge University in 2010 with a degree in English Literature. She completed her first professional directing job in July for the Everybody Dance Now festival in her home-town of Wolverhampton, where she also assisted The Supreme Sunbeam (Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, 2007). As an undergraduate she directed Ionesco’s Macbett (December 2008), and collaborated on a number of devised works. Acting credits include; new opera Terrible Lips (Cambridge, June 2010), Miranda in The Tempest (Cambridge American Stage Tour, Aug-Oct 2010), Viola in Twelfth Night (Cambridge Arts Theatre, February 2010), Magdalena in The House of Bernarda Alba (November 2009, ADC Theatre).

 

Producer

Louise Rogers

Louise trained at Birmingham Theatre School, The University of Birmingham and ALRA. An experienced Producer, Director and Choreographer Louise has worked all over the UK including The Royal Albert Hall, The National Theatre, The Edinburgh Festival, The Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham and The New Wimbledon Theatre. She was previously General Manager for C venues, Producing the popular Shakespeare for Breakfast and The Little Mermaid, Producing and Directing Driving Helicopter Style Three Quarters of the Way to the Moon and Directing and Choreographing Time Out’s critic’s choice Catchy for Total Beast Theatre Company. She is also a Co-Producer of Hubble Bubble Productions whose critically acclaimed production of Timeshare was a Scotsman Pick of the Fringe. Louise’s Rifco Arts credits include producing Britain’s got Bhangra on the previous tour and Rifco Arts: A Celebration