The Far Pavilions

This show has now closed, click here for a listing of current and future London shows

Musical Opened 14 April 2005, Closed 17 September 2005

Shaftesbury Theatre 210 Shaftesbury Avenue, London

"Terrific fun! I loved every minute of it" The Daily Mail

The Far Pavilions is a musical adapted from MM Kaye’s novel of the same name.

The Far Pavilions is set in the India of the British Raj at the end of the 19th century where, against the spectacular and epic sweep of battle, treachery and intrigue, two star-crossed lovers are caught up in a passionate and haunting love story.

"Bombay Dreams meets Les Miserables in M M Kaye's romantic blockbuster set in mid-19th century India" The Guardian

"A great evening of storytelling, built around interlocking love stories which cross continents, literally and culturally, as English Victorians struggle to adjust to the maelstrom of India. There is never a dull moment among the many twists and turns of the central story, and there are a lot of very good songs. This is not Bollywood, although Lez Brotherston's excellent settings nod in that direction, there is highly effective use of Indian music from Kuljit Bhamra and the whole evening has an infectious, lively exuberance, handled very well by conductor David Braun-White... Trust it and enjoy it for what it is: a joyous outpouring of storytelling, an uplifting evening for the soul." The Observer

"Gale Edwards' staging is terrific - boasting the kind of elegant, artless simplicity that you only get by spending millions - a West End musical that should be here to stay" The Guardian

"Some of Kaye's lessons about multi-ethnic societies still apply today. But what a bore this show is! Composer Philip Henderson's plodding tunes make you wonder if he's just working up to playing a scale, and Stephen Clark's lyrics are equally bland. Most of the cast, when faced with a surging crescendo, merely shout... The only redeeming features are the gorgeous traditional Indian costumes and the electrifying Indian score." The Independent on Sunday

"A passage to India well worth making" The Daily Telegraph

"The British Raj has a lot to answer for: for example, the destruction of the Indian textile industry. To this must now be added this ghastly musical, based on MM Kaye's famous bestselling novel. It has done nothing to make me read it. This is an overdressed Victorian fancy-dress party, desperate to be multiculti, in which it is about as successful as chicken tikka masala with cranberry sauce... The music sounds like a blend of fake Lloyd Webber and fake Schoenberg (Claude-Michel, not Arnold)." The Sunday Times

"In the shape of the big, brassy musical that opened this week at the Shaftesbury Theatre, M M Kaye's themes of national identity (dee-dum-dee-dum-dee-dum), honour (der-der-der-dar) and forbidden love (tra-la-la-la) can seem trite and vacuous, if not downright comical... If you can overlook for one evening any sensitivities you may have about race, class, British history and what has been done to a much-loved book, and simply enjoy the music and the spectacle of a talented cast demonstrating tremendous grace under pressure, then The Far Pavilions might yet be for you." The Sunday Telegraph

"The lavish new West End musical version of M.M.Kaye's The Far Pavilions is Mills And Boon set against a backdrop of Indian sunsets and a portrait of Indian Empress Victoria. It is the hackneyed story of childhood sweethearts - she's Indian, he's British - who promise undying love, only to be torn apart by ambitious villains, class conflict and racial prejudice, before they are miraculously reunited. Here, at best, we have endless sub-Les Mis lushness, with one bland, slushy love song barely distinguishable from the next and a couple of Indian numbers thrown in as a background to some fabulous dancing by bare-bellied dusky maidens and the hunky Corps of Guides wielding lethal weapons." The Mail on Sunday