A Hyde woman who taught Bollywood dance to the cast of Hollyoaks and The Real Housewives of Cheshire will premiere her first children’s theatre show in Manchester.
Dancer, actor, choreographer, model and entrepreneur Ria Meera Munshi, has now added writing and directing to her CV.
Ria, 32, is no stranger to the screen, having taught Bollywood dance to the Real Housewives of Cheshire, as well as Hollyoaks cast members Ellis Hollins and Haiesha Mistry for their characters' wedding scenes last year.
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Her first production, Sue & Sita, launches at Z-arts this October, before touring venues around Greater Manchester and the north.
The show, which uses puppetry and dance to retell a classical Indian tale, was supported by the Arts Council and Z-Arts.
It tells the story of a little girl called Sue who goes on a magical journey and discovers she has more in common with the Hindu goddess Sita than she could have imagined.
The story aims to bring Sita into the modern world, creating a strong, independent, warrior goddess who is, in turn, inspirational to the younger generation.
Suitable for ages eight and over, the production was co-written with award-winning playwright and poet Louise Wallwein MBE.
Ria, who was named young entrepreneur of the year in 2013 and received a Pride in Hyde award in 2019, told the Manchester Evening News: "The idea of Sue & Sita was conceived during the first lockdown.
"Through lots of Zoom meetings with Louise, it really let me unlock my creativity and assisted with my mental health during lockdown.
"Now that Sue & Sita is going on tour, it feels surreal, because during lockdown, it was fully under lock and key and we didn’t know what would happen in the future. So now, seeing the show come to life, it's really exciting!"
A love of performing arts came naturally to Ria.
Her father is Rushi Munshi, who has a background as an assistant director on Bollywood films as well as writing and directing for TV and theatre in Mumbai.
In 2010, Ria graduated with a BA in Performing Arts from the University of Salford and shortly afterwards, opened her own dance company, Ri Ri's Dance Academy.
In 2011, the company broke the Guinness World Record for the most people dancing to a Bollywood song simultaneously, which was over 1400 people at Platt Fields Park.
Sue & Sita is Ri Ri’s Dance Academy’s second theatre production and theatre tour, with the first one being Thunderstruck in 2019.
Bringing theatre to South Asian communities is a passion of Ria's, who is a Gujrati Hindu.
She continued: "Representation on stage and tv, and also behind the scenes, is so important. Those behind-the-scenes people really drive what happens on stage and on the screen.
"I'm so passionate about diversity and South Asian representation, they’re a very big part of me. That’s why I have to keep South Asian talent in my mind and how I can bring them into the limelight, because I never had those opportunities. I want to give as much as I can to our communities."
Representing Greater Manchester is also important for Ria, who was born in Tameside and crowned Miss India UK Ashton-Under-Lyne in 2012.
She added: "I' m a Mancunian through and through . I co-hosted the Manchester Culture Awards in 2019 alongside Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz in Coronation Street. That was really important to me because I was representing culture in Manchester.
“Recently, I hosted the Thank You Manchester Weekender, an outdoor event which was organised by Manchester City Council, with a parade and stilt walkers and all that fun stuff. That was in aid of Covid-19 and saying thank you to NHS workers. To represent Manchester and Northerners as much as I can, it's another a passion of mine."
Sue & Sita premieres on Friday 22 Saturday and Sunday 23 October at Z-arts, Stretford Road, Hulme, Manchester, M15 5ZA. Tickets are available at https://www.z-arts.org/events/sue-and-sita/.
The tour continues to Waterside, Sale (24 October), Touchstones, Rochdale (26 October), Astley Cheetham Art Gallery, Stalybridge (27 October), The Boo, Rossendale (28 October), Kala Sangam, Bradford (30 October), Square Chapel, Halifax (31 October), Octagon, Bolton (5 November), Oldham Library (6 November) and The Old Courts, Oldham (7 November).
Each venue will be selling tickets to Sue & Sita.
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