Wordsmiths from South Africa and India will come together to narrate tales from the two countries, breaking notions, defying norms and above all propelling hope.
'Tales from Two Countries' will unite different but complimenting arts and narratives, combining visceral poetry and ethereal musical expression with the grace, poise and emotions of dance and some never-before-seen art forms.
The two-hour long show presented by Performers' Consortium, will be divided into four performances -- The Whistler Project, Divya Dureja Project, Darshan - Projecting Gods and Black Boi Be.
'The Whistler Project' which will be performed by multi- disciplinary artist Manu Sriram Kamath, guitarist Bhaanu Mendiratta and cello artist Nawa Lanzilotti, will showcase a musical experiment emerging from the obscure french art of sifflement de la langue (langage of whistling).
"Combining oral storytelling and the unique whistle language with the beautiful serenade of the classical guitar and the beguiling music of the cello, the music will be interpreted through contemporary dance by the stylistically transcendent 'Prince and the Dance Crew'," says Divya Dureja, one of the performers at the event and co-founder of Performers' Consortium.
Dureja, an international spoken word poet, will take the evening forward with her 'Divya Dureja Project', where she will explore life, with its highs, lows and in-betweens, in a society going through seismic changes.
Dureja says her poetry will create a world that will provoke the audience to think.
"It journeys through experimental verse with a melange of visual and sonic creations. This is an exploration of existence through a poetic mixture of various different art forms ranging from poetry, to ballet, to hip hop, to melodious music," she says.
The following act "Darshan - Projecting Gods" by Manola K Gayatri, will tell the story of "a pilgrimage to see and be seen by gods and a story about a voyage to other countries".
The story will also talk about "alien gods and the travelling gods".
"It asks us questions about how we see each other and how we see the self in the other," says Dureja.
The final act "Black Boi Be", written and performed by South African theatre poet Xabiso Vili, will combine age old theatre traditions with burgeoning and modern spoken word, employing artistic devices not normally seen collaborating together.
"Using multiple disciplines and multimedia, 'Black Boi Be' delivers a one man show that keeps the audience, entertained, attentive and constantly surprised. It pushes the grain in not only what theatre can be but also in what spoken word performances are," says Dureja.
The show will be performed on May 15 at the Shri Ram Centre in Mandi House here.
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