Bard witha twist

POPULAR Bangladeshi theatre adds a new dimension to the greatest love story ever told when TARA bring their production of Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet to The Hawth Studio in Crawley on September 30.

Weaving together Shakespeare’s verse and Bengali poetry, People’s Romeo is a dynamic cross-cultural performance which sees five performers use Pala Gaan – a theatre style which combines music, dance and storytelling - to reinvent a classic of English theatre.

Pala Gaan, an energetic and highly-engaging style of theatre, was originally performed in the market squares of Bangladesh in the 16th century, at the same time as Shakespeare was staging his plays before London crowds at the Globe.

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Sohini Alam, a musician and singer in the show, is delighted to return to it. Originally it was half an hour to three quarters, but the production has since been developed and expanded into the full-length format.

As she says, it’s not so much about what the Bengali tells us about the Shakespeare or vice versa; it’s more about combining the two in an exploration of story-telling.

“Some of the characters speak in Bengali; some of them speak in Shakespeare English, all in the Pala Gaan style, which was like a rural story-telling style in the Bengali villages. It starts with an invocation. You call on the spirits or the gods and goddesses or the wind or the trees. Depending on your inclination, you can call on whatever you want.

“Usually in the villages the people sit all around, and the performer in charge of the Pala Gaan will tell people what is happening, usually in the form of song. There are different players that will come out and do their bits.”

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And the Bengali language certainly isn’t proving a barrier to understanding. As Sohini says, it helps that the story is well known: “A lot of people may have said that they might not understand the words, but between the gestures and the way that it is portrayed in terms of movement, they have found that they are quite easily able to understand the story.”

It’s very much what TARA does. TARA are experts in pioneering the re-invention of European classics from an Asian perspective.

“Every community has its Romeo and Juliet. It is a global story with a universal theme. People’s Romeo tells Shakespeare’s story from a fresh point of view and seeks to engage new audiences and more young people with his work.”

Tickets on 01293 553636 or you can book online at www.hawth.co.uk.

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