Chai brews some Bollywood laughs Binu Raghaven and Shabnam Tavakol play husband and wife in the comic play The Last Chai. Picture: Peter Kelly Source: The Daily Telegraph SWEEPING dance routines, colourful costumes and an intriguing mystery with a darkly comic bent - welcome to Bollywood Sydney-style. Opening as part of the Mardi Gras Festival early next month, The Last Chai is a new work inspired in equal part by 1960s master of the black comedy Joe Orton and the traditions of India's national cinema, produced and staged by South Asian performers as part of the work of Trikone Australasia, a support group for young gay and lesbian people. "I watched (Orton's) Entertaining Mr Sloane and I was reading about Joe Orton and I was thinking about a murder mystery play so this story inspired me and I started writing the storyline, not like (Orton) but in a Bollywood kind of way," explains Binu Raghavan, who helped drive the work and stars as its protagonist. The piece follows migrants Amir and his wife Ragini, who have come to Australia so Amir can pursue his dream of being an actor. Things get complicated when an actress takes a shine to Amir; even more so given that Amir is gay. Unhappy Ragini is keen to return to India but finds some comfort in her friendship with her lesbian neighbour. The women discover Amir's secret and trouble ensues, all in the context of eight big dance performances. "We've taken the Bollywood genre of an excuse for a dance, but we've tried to match the dances so they tell a story within the play," director Nigel Balm says. twitter @EpicChook Sidetrack Theatre, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville; adult $28, conc $24, sidetrack.com.au