On June 17th, we saw our first scheduled musical. It was a new theatre experience for me. I’d never seen live Bollywood until that night. We saw Bend It Like Beckham.  I know that Bollywood, generally, is very showy and extravagant but, I did not expect what I saw. It was bright yellow. The set was yellow and it was not easy to light, according to Neil Austin, the designer for the show. We had the chance to have a meet and greet with him to talk about lighting and its impact on the show. His lighting was so great because, it helped transform the stage into different places, despite only being able to make certain parts of it three colors. It was amazing that they used rotating walls for set changes. Everything that was really big and important was flown in. It made the stage look neat and appropriate without taking the time to do a set change. This was only the first theatre that we have visited where they used microphones. If there are two things you will not find in England, it’s air conditioning and microphones on actors. It was interesting to have the stage set up like a soccer goal. I thought it was really basic to do that but, I am allowed my own opinion. The ball of light was also cool but, it is a little underwhelming for a professional theatre. I do like that they didn’t try to pass as current because it was very dated. They said 2001 in the show because of the references being made. I’m really not a fan of shows that date themselves like that. It was the same problem I had with Everyman. Plays should be made to last over time, That is why it’s live theatre and not the movies. I think it was someone’s interpretation of what people look for in musicals and I’m not impressed.