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Rifco Theatre Company is a touring theatre company based in
Watford, Hertfordshire Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construct ...
, England, which focuses on bringing British South Asian stories to the stage, and audiences from the community into theatres. The company was founded in 1999 by director and writer Pravesh Kumar, the current artistic director, and is based in
Watford Palace Theatre Watford Palace Theatre, opened in 1908, is an Edwardian Grade II listed building in Watford, Hertfordshire. The 600-seat theatre on Clarendon Road was refurbished in 2004. It houses its own rehearsal room, wardrobe, cafe and bar. History The ...
.


Company history

Rifco was founded in 1999 when Kumar devised and acted in comedy sketch show ''Airport 2000: Asians in Transit'', alongside Ajay Chhabra, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti and
Harvey Virdi Harvey Virdi is a British actress of Indian descent. She trained at Academy Drama School in London. Career Her theatre credits include '' The Borrowers'' (at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff), ''Tiger Country'' and ''Tales From The Harrow Road'' ...
. It initially played three sell out shows at Riverside Studios, and Kumar describes this as 'the accidental birth of Rifco'. Since its inception, Rifco have toured nineteen original productions across the UK, with its twentieth touring in the Autumn of 2025. Since 2013, Rifco have created a number of web series which broadcast across their social media. These range from sketch comedies to documentary shorts. In 2015, Rifco launched their Associates programme which aims to nurture and uplift emerging British South Asian creatives. In 2018, Ameet Chana was appointed Associate Director of the company. Notable actors who have worked with Rifco include
Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi cinema, Hindi film industry has spanned Shabana Azmi filmography, over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist paral ...
, Divya Seth Shah, Tez Ilyas, Navin Kundra,
Harvey Virdi Harvey Virdi is a British actress of Indian descent. She trained at Academy Drama School in London. Career Her theatre credits include '' The Borrowers'' (at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff), ''Tiger Country'' and ''Tales From The Harrow Road'' ...
and
Divian Ladwa Divian Ladwa is an English actor best known for appearing in the Oscar-nominated ''Lion'', the BAFTA-winning comedy series '' Detectorists'', and the Marvel Studios film '' Ant-Man and the Wasp''. Career TV and film Divian Ladwa's film d ...
. Rifco is an
Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...
National Portfolio Organisation.


Past productions


Digital shows

* ''Mummy Ji Presents'' (2012) * ''Young Asian Comedy Workshop'' (2016) * ''The Desi Lockdown'' (2020) * ''Leave The Plastic On'' (2021, 2 series) * ''GenerAsians'' ''- The Ugandan Expulsion'' (2022)


Awards


References

{{authority control Theatre companies in the United Kingdom