Pravesh Kumar, founder and artistic director of Rifco Theatre Company, the UK’s most successful British South Asian touring company, has been recognised in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list and will receive an MBE for his contribution to British theatre.
Pravesh, a writer and director, comes from a working-class background and grew up in a large Asian community in Slough. He set up Rifco Theatre Company in 2000 to tell the stories and experiences of British Asians in a way that was both accessible and appealing to the community. Over the past two decades, he has attracted truly diverse audiences in their thousands to theatres in the regions with his hugely popular plays, comedies and musicals, and has helped launch the careers of countless well-known performers and actors.
Pravesh said: “I grew up looking at Windsor Castle in the distance from the bedroom in Slough, this feels like a dream. I am delighted to be recognised for my work and be in such an esteemed company on the 2022 Honours List. I have been making British Asian focused theatre for 21 years now and I feel blessed to have worked with such amazing creatives and actors.
“Our community rarely wants to talk about the serious issues and I realised that the only way to connect was through making the conversation accessible through entertainment and really open the doors to theatreland for a whole new audience. We’ve come so far as a community in this country and I think it’s important to continue to hold up a mirror to society and tell those untold stories.
