INFORMAL - AN INTERVIEW SERIES
PREEYA KALIDAS
Preeya Kalidas has made many notable appearances on stage and screen during her career and is known for playing the character Amira Masood in the BBC soap opera Eastenders. She has had roles in many musical theatre productions, notably as the narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Pinky in Bend it Like Beckham, Miss Hedge in Everybody's Talking About Jamie and a leading role in Bombay Dreams.
This month Preeya is set to appear as Kate in the staged concert version of IF/THEN from Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning team, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey at London's Savoy Theatre alongside Kerry Ellis, David Hunter and Adam Garcia. There are two performances on Monday 10th February and Monday 17th February.
I met Preeya earlier this year at the press launch for the show and after hearing her perform 2 songs from the show earlier that afternoon, I was intrigued to learn about her IF/THEN character Kate: "She is a positive force in the piece. She is the best friend of Elizabeth (the main character) and really encourages her and supports her in her journey. She's kind of one of those people that everyone should have in their life, she's such a positive ray of light."
I wondered if it was these character qualities which drew Preeya to the role: "Well I did the workshop two years ago and when I was asked if I'd be interested, I had to listen to the music because you have to have some sort of affiliation with the songs and the music to be able to perform well and bring it to life. The first song I heard was 'It's a Sign' and I thought it was amazing and instantly knew what I could do with it. So to be honest it was the music which first drew me in, so I'm really excited that we get to perform this as a concert version because the music is so phenomenal. And actually each song tells its own story and the melodies are just magical."
I'm always interested in the differences between concert staging and full productions and I asked Preeya what she thought the strengths of concert stagings are: "For me one of the great things about musicals is the music itself and growing up I would listen to albums of shows before I'd even seen them - for instance I was obsessed with Miss Saigon - and I loved the album so much and the stage version brought it to life in a different way, but being so familiar with the music helped me to connect to the show in a different way."
We both agreed that one thing concert versions do is create a buzz around a musical, and whenever I personally see a concert version, I'm always screaming out for a full production: "A concert is like a starter... and then you get to have the main course!"
I asked Preeya how much of herself she brings to the role of Kate and she got quite philosophical: "Well I think I connect with Kate because I always try to keep positive. I'm one of those annoying friends who is always trying to see the positive in any situation and I believe I'm someone who's also very about the universe and I believe in the signs. Whether we listen to them is a whole different story!"
If the performances on the day of the press launch are anything to go by then this presentation of IF/THEN is sure to be a huge success and will have audiences screaming for a full scale production. Find all the ticketing details bellow.
If/Then
The Savoy Theatre
Monday 10th February & Monday 17th February 2025
You can check out Preeya's performances of 'It's a Sign' and 'No More Wasted Time' from the press launch on my social media channels. Search Pink Prince Theatre on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok!
Interview conducted by Neill Kovacic-Clarke for Pink Prince Theatre on 13/01/25
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