Seducing scenery from Manganiyars

I was keen to catch this show after seeing the poster of the 38 musicians stacked on top of each other in a set of boxes with illuminated with flashing bulbs. It starts with just one box illuminated and the deserty sound of the bowed kamancha before a second musician draws back his red silk curtain, his box lights up and he starts singing a devotional Sufi song.

It slowly builds until there are whole sections of dholak drummers, kamancha players and singers — the lights flashing on and off as they pick up each other’s phrases.

The music is ecstatic and exuberant and so, for the most part, is the staging — part brothel, part Bollywood.

There’s a climactic duet from the thunderous dhol drum players at the outer corners of the structure as musicians and lights together go into a frenetic finale, bringing the packed audience to its feet

Although part of the Barbican’s BITE international theatre event, this is more an exceptional piece of concert staging by director Roysten Abel.  

The Manganiyar Seduction
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, Barbican, EC2Y 8DS