A concert that began with one man crying on Charing Cross Road returns to the West End, raising money to train the next generation.
Ben Armstrong‘s programme note at RepresentAsian recounts his experience in the audience at the Wyndham’s Theatre. He was watching Life of Pi and, from the moment Hiran Abeysekera appeared on stage, he could not stop crying. He realised why when he was walking down Charing Cross Road afterwards. It was the first time he had seen someone on stage who looked like him and sounded like members of his family. That was five years ago, and the idea it planted became RepresentAsian.
Tonight, the event was back at the Lyric Theatre (usually home to Hadestown) for a second West End outing.
RepresentAsian began as twice yearly evenings at the Phoenix Arts Club and made its West End debut at the Lyric in October 2025. This was its eighth iteration. Armstrong, an Anglo Sri Lankan casting director, now counts over one hundred actors, musicians and creatives from the Asian diaspora in the project’s alumni network.
The evening has a purpose beyond the entertainment. Profits fund scholarships at The Boury Academy, a not-for-profit performing arts school in Vauxhall offering affordable training to young people aged 4 to 21. The first scholar, Anya, has been training there since September, and she was on stage, visibly excited and thrilled to be involved.
Nina Wadia hosted, and she was witty, with a great rapport with the audience. She was also skilled at putting the performers at ease, which matters on a night when several of them were stepping onto a West End stage for the first time.
Those three debuts were a treat. Shivaane Subash, Sameer Dhanjee and Charlie Moscrop are all at the very start of their careers, and all will be worth watching. Dhanjee can next be seen in this year’s Lyric Hammersmith pantomime. Subash and Moscrop gave us excellent pair work and humour in “Fine” from Ordinary Days. Subash played the end of the song directly to the audience with a cheeky “shall I actually marry him?” They told us they had both been in the audience last year, so were delighted to be promoted to an on stage role.
Mia Kobayashi displayed her range of talent. Her “I Say No” from Heathers was spirited, and “Sing, But Don’t Tell” from Island Song became a hilariously comic and coy flirtation with the pianist. It was wonderful to see the Your Lie in April reunion with Zheng Xi Yong, as that musical was Kobayashi’s professional and West End debut. Yong had great advice for the audience: recognise oppression and racism, but also do what is in your own power and do not let it stop you. He reflected there are more parts for someone like him now than when he was starting out.
An especially moving moment came from James Hameed, who performed on the day his transfer to Broadway as Paddington was announced. He spoke about the duality of Paddington, who is very British and yet at times an outsider, and about how this resonates with anyone who is an immigrant, and especially a refugee. The thread running through Paddington, “Mrs Brown says that in London everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in”, did not need to be stated. It was understood. He also talked about how, as he climbed his career mountain, he wanted to always be throwing down a ladder to the next generation.
Electric performances from the other established professionals rounded out the night: Soophia Foroughi, Hiba Elchikhe, Roshani Abbey and Nadim Naaman. They shared well known favourites alongside songs from less familiar musicals.
Foroughi displayed real diva quality in “Never” (On the Twentieth Century), rejecting Moscrop with full hyperbole while he slunk off the stage in sporting fashion. Elchikhe enchanted with Wicked‘s “The Wizard and I”.
Naaman chose “Lightning” from Rumi: The Musical, which he co-wrote, and spoke of the deep richness of Middle Eastern and Asian stories that could be told on our stages. Abbey took on “In Between Two Worlds” from Māyā, highlighting how the song and character moved between England and India in a way many in the audience would recognise.
The full company closed with a powerful and joyful “Can’t Help Falling in Love”.
This was a highly satisfying evening of entertainment which also shed a spotlight on an important cause. It was a stage brimming with verve and passion. Hameed’s ladder is a good image for it, and this evening definitely built several of those rungs to help younger generations of Asian talent reach the heights of those we saw tonight.
You can donate at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/representasian26.
[Thank you to Chloe Nelkin for gifted tickets for an honest review.]