THE conditions couldn’t have been more perfect for a Bhangra extravaganza: the summer sun was still burning in the sky and the Theatre Royal Windsor was packed to the gunnels with what must be the entire Indian community of the Royal Borough. Excitement and expectations were high.

But when the curtain rose and “twinkle twinkle little star” softly lulled through the hot air, there was a collective moment of confusion. No sooner had brows furrowed than a Bollywood beat exploded from the live band and colourful sari-draped women and men burst onto the stage to sing and dance and send the crowd cheering and chuckling appreciatively.

And thus began the relentless pace of Britain’s got Bhangra, a new musical by Rifco Arts that is touring the country after an impressive start at Warwick Arts Centre earlier this year. How do I paraphrase such a plot as this, which seems to tangle and weave quite extraordinarily?

The premise is a well-trod path: Indian boy moves to England to make his fortune before sending for his lovely wife to live with him. Naïve Twinkle (our sparkling leading man) with his admired voice soon finds himself a big singing star, and while the couple live in luxury in the ‘nice suburbs of Birmingham’, Twinkle gets sucked under the influence of his manipulative manager Shindie and the perils of fame.

Then his best friend dies, his wife can’t have a baby…on and on the plot twists, faster than the girls can wiggle and spin to the endlessly energetic music.

But the music and dancing is truly great – where else will you ever hear Land of Hope and Glory with a Bhangra beat?

And with its predominantly young cast and energetic pace, the show rockets along with lots of laughs and some witty takes on Indian community life in Britain. Unfortunately, too many of the jokes were ‘in’ jokes: delivered in Punjabi or representing some idiosyncrasy of Indian culture unbeknown to me and my companion.

This is more Bollywood show than musical, and while the party atmosphere is exuberant, it is not infectious. It was a party of a friend of a friend: the music is great, the drinks are free and the people try to include you as best they can. Passionate and vivacious: British Bollywood at it’s best.

The show runs from Tuesday June 29 to Saturday July 3 at the Theatre Royal Windsor. Tickets are £10 - £26.50 and are available from the box office on 01753 853888. Shows Monday-Saturday 8pm, Thursday 2.30pm and Saturday 4.45pm.

www.theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk