BOLLYWOOD meets Shakespeare in a dynamic, passionate and innovative Phizzical theatre production of Cymbeline at Taunton’s Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre this October.

Audiences will get far more from Phizzical’s interpretation of this lesser known play than just a Bollywood take on the Bard.

Under the direction of Samir Bhamra, the playwright’s tale of love, war and deception is brought into the 1990s when religious riots tore through India, killing thousands, sparked off by the destruction of the Ayodhya Babri mosque in 1992.

Given this context, the play has real emotive resonance with the cast, says Samir.

In costume and characterisation, the production has stayed true to the hallmarks of 1970s Bollywood cinema.

Phizzical’s Cymbeline also delves into the dark criminal underworld underlying the Bollywood art form, in thrall to one of the world’s most wanted men, gangster Dawood Ibrahim, believed to be currently living in exile in Pakistan.

Samir told the County Gazette: “This isn’t safe theatre and I didn’t want the Bollywood to overshadow the Shakespeare.

“It has been quite a challenge for the actors, but they’ve dealt with it by seeing it through their personal experiences of living within two different cultures, living harmoniously at home and trying to find a balance between these two cultures”.

Cymbeline starts at 7.30pm on Wednesday, October 2, and standard tickets cost £10.