Permit me, before we talk about the evening itself, the second of its kind in the West End, to offer a reflection. Although from a different community to the array of talented Asian and North African singers and musicians on stage at the Lyric Theatre last night, as a gay man of a certain age, I fully grasp the need for visual representation. In my lifetime, in addition to – and arguably a cause of and caused by – significant legislative change, we’ve gone from the camp comedians of the 1970s (John Inman, Larry Grayson – representing a very specific type of gay man), via the chaste kiss of Eastenders, the patio planting of Brookside and the whole gamut of shows from the brilliant Russell T Davies (Queer as Folk was the game changer) to having Andrew Scott on the verge of Oscar glory, while Jonathan Bailey was the highest grossing leading man in Hollywood in 2025. Progress can feel slow, generational in its shifts, but it happens.
Which brings me to Represent Asian (and yes, I am aware that, when talking about an evening set up to celebrate all that is good about Asian talent, rather than Asian culture, which is a key distinction to make, I have started by making it all about me!). Somewhat embarrassingly, given I am a West End regular, I had not been aware of the network and showcases that the talented Ben Armstrong and his team had established. The importance of such nights was clear from the audience, which, while large, still felt predominantly Asian (this is not a criticism, but an observation – shows that are put on with largely non-white casts tend to be more attractive to that community, as has been the case in the past with the all black Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with the late James Earl Jones, or the excellent Fences, which was on at the other Lyric in Hammersmith recently). What we need to get to is a place where all communities feel represented, not in one-off moments or occasional offerings, but generally, where communities such as this can, in their musical choices, both integrate – with the West End classics and standards – and innovate, bringing their own experiences, stories and songs to the stage.
This they managed last night, with an eclectic blend that featured more immediately familiar West End fare (we had songs from Wicked, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Heathers, Waitress, Godspell), numbers from the phenomenon that is Paddington as well as the forthcoming The Notebook, as well as musicals from within their wider community, represented by the likes of Bombay Dreams, Your Lie in April, Maya (with a beautiful song that captured some of the underlying themes of the evening, ‘In Between Two Worlds’, performed with verve by Roshani Abbey) and an original song by Nadim Namaan, ‘Lightening’, from his own musical, Rumi. There was not a dull or duff moment in this splendid showcase and, while there was no narrative or story as such – it was a concert rather than a musical – themes emerged regarding identity, home, belonging and the immigrant experience (or even that of a perceived outsider), as well as Ben’s hope that the motif for the evening would be love (hence the finale, a clever rendition of the Elvis Presley classic, ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’)
And there was another theme, that of generational change, in relation to the cast, with the torch not being passed down through different generations but used to light new ones that will blaze their own path on the stage. Nina Wadia, as she admitted herself, represents an older generation, like me, just happy to have seen someone like you on stage or screen; as the host for the evening, she kept proceedings moving apace, with neat comic touches regarding her own alleged musical career. The next generation down saw a series of more established musical talent, with West End and wider experience already tucked under their respective belts. So, we had, amongst others, Zheng Xi Yong, fresh from his touchingly amusing turn as Shane Hollander in one of the many Heated Rivalry parodies (I have seen him twice in this, as well as in Four Play and American Psycho), reviving his duet from Your Lie in April (‘One Hundred Thousand Million Stars’) with Mia Kobayashi, as well as their individual numbers (Mia opened the second act with a very amusing ‘Sing but don’t tell’, declaring her love for pianist and musical arranger Taekkeun Sim). Sophie Foroughi was suitably operatic in her solo numbers; Hiba Elchikhe positively belted out the crowd-pleasing ‘The Wizard and I’ and the recent Olivier award winning star of Paddington, James Hameed gave us a double bill from that and Aladdin (‘Proud of the Boy’ – I am sure they rightly are).
And then, opening the show and having key moments of their own, either in comedic duets – ‘Fine’, one of the real highlights of the evening – or as soloists, were three singers making their West End debuts, Sameer Dhanjee, Charlie Moscrop and Shivaane Subash. All were excellent, showing no nerves at being on such a stage for the first time and – as with seeing another Charlie, Charlie Stemp, blast into superstardom in Half a Sixpence a few years ago – you did feel that you were witnessing the beginning of something special. Particular kudos to Charlie Moscrop, with his matinee idol looks, audience pleasing twinkle and deft comic timing – he will go far.
Back to me – I am not a fan of Pride, feeling it overly commercialised now and of its day (in amongst the glitter and glitz, my favourite moment was watching two elderly gay men silently watch the parade, holding hands). It no longer feels as essential and – not in a sneery Daily Mail kind of way (this show would be worth an extra star just for annoying the Daily Mail that it was even happening) – I hope that, eventually, in the not too distant future, evenings such as this feel unnecessary as well. I wish them every success and – given the talent on show – believe such success will be theirs; in fact, I hope they are victims of their own success, finding other West End stages and their own platforms to perform, without needing such showcases. Until that time, such yearly windows remain essential – and I will be back next year to see what new talent has been discovered. Martin Luther King, quoting Theodore Parker, said that ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice’. If there is any justice in the world, this talented collective will eventually find an even fuller place within the West End firmament.
Review: David Brown