Najma Akhtar – Composes, sings and acts the role of the narrator in William Shakespeare’s, ‘PERICLES’. Cornucopia Theatre Company presents its fifth site-specific Shakespeare production, ‘Pericles’ at Glamis Adventure Playground, Tower Hamlets, London. 12 performances Fridays and Saturdays 8pm, Sundays 4pm: September 29 & 30 October 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22. Entry by donation to the playground. Director - Mark Duncan
Singer/ Narrator - Najma Akhtar Guitar - David Wilkins Drums & percussion - Satin Singh Musical director - James Hesford Choreographer - Showmi Das Cornucopia's ‘Pericles’ brings to life Shakespeare’s play using physical theatre, story-telling, site-specific performance, original music, local community involvement and carnival arts. ‘Pericles’ is set in mythical lands with dance and music inspired by the rich colourful culture of India. A diverse ensemble of professional actors and local youngsters work together in this most adventurous playground to bring this epic tale of discovery to life. Cornucopia’s inter-cultural production has a cast that reflects the themes highlighted in ‘Pericles’, for example the plight of our hero and his family to different countries, their displacement, and international relations. Najma Akhtar plays the role of Gower, a Bard from an ancient kingdom in North India; it is she who takes us on this wild adventure. Through music and song Gower enchants us with the story of her kinsman Pericles and his unending quest for love and self-discovery in a cruel and unpredictable world. Cornucopia invites audiences of all ages and cultures, families, local residents, tourists, old and new theatre-goers to join us on this odyssey. We aim to reignite this rarely performed Shakespeare gem to its former popularity. We hope that you can join us and fall in love with this swashbuckling tale of adventure. Cornucopia Theatre will also be running inclusive acting and carnival art workshops to recruit young people and local emerging artists to maximise community involvement and to help support artists from all the diverse backgrounds in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. Come and support great art and Glamis Adventure Playground.
This Performance highlights and previews songs from Najma Akhtar's album Five Rivers and presents artistic musical and cultural diversity at its best.
Saturday 11th June 2016 THE SHOUT COLLECTIVE PRESENT LIVE ON STAGE NAJMA AKHTAR TRIO The Queen of Anglo-Asian music giving blues and folk a distinctive Indian twist On the Decks:
THE SHOUT COLLECTIVE Spinning the best selection of blues, soul, funk & global sounds £5 (+£0.50 bkg fee) in advance: £7 on the door I am honoured to be performing my Five Rivers project with my full band on 8 April 2016 as part of the Women in Music Festival presented by Sama Arts Network at the Nehru Centre, London. The festival curated by Jay Visvadeva is a fantastic festival with an incredible line up of women of South Asian origin
Here's a lovely review and some great photos of a fundraising event for Calais refugees I was recently involved in. I performed alongside some wonderful musicians and the comedian Jeremy Hardy hosted by Jamie Renton at Bedroom Bar, London.
I performed 3 songs from my new project - Five Rivers as a trio - with David Wilkins on guitar and Matt Grabham on violin. Hear "Black is the Colour" one of the songs from our rehearsal in preparation for the concert. |
|