Rifco Theatre Company
Rifco Theatre Company is a touring theatre company based in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, which focuses on bringing South [Asians in the United Kingdom|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.
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. 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, Divya Seth Shah, Tez Ilyas, Navin Kundra, Harvey Virdi and Divian Ladwa.
Rifco is an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation.