Productions

TWELVE

Friendship | First Love | Defiance | Survival.

April 2015

Brentford, Birmingham & Shoreditch

12 writers, 12 stories.

Twelve moving, touching and humorous stories of friendship, first love, defiance, death and survival inspired by reports of young women murdered by their families in the UK where on average twelve such killings occur each year. Twelve stories are interwoven with traditional and contemporary dance to create a unique theatre experience that gives voice to these lost lives.

Written by Sonali Bhattacharyya, Sharmila Chauhan, Satinder Chohan, Azma Dar, Tanika Gupta, Bettina Gracias, Sayan Kent, Yasmeen Khan, Anu Kumar, Amber Lone, Nessah Muthy and Yasmin Whittaker-Khan.

 

 

About the play

Kali’s Artistic Director, Janet Steel brought together twelve writers and a choreographer to explore this politically burning and culturally sensitive topic by researching twelve real-life stories of women like Samaira Nazir, murdered for falling in love with an unsuitable boyfriend and Shafilea Ahmed, killed by her father after rejecting an arranged marriage proposal.  Drawing on the statements of survivors, witnesses, and support workers, each writer then wrote a piece inspired by the life and death of one of these women.

The blend of classical Kathak and modern Laban dance was choreographed by internationally known dancer and campaigner Sheema Kermani.

Sheema Kermani is the founder of Tehrik-e-Niswan, a cultural arm of the Women’s Rights Movement in Pakistan. For over three decades, this fearless and renowned classical dancer has led a battle against cultural oppression in Pakistan by staging shows on subjects that are not easily talked about in that part of the world. In 2005 she was nominated as one of the “1000 Peace Women from across the Globe” for the Nobel Peace Prize.

You can hear Janet Steel talking about Twelve on the BBC Asian Network here (Fast forward to 1hr 27min)

Venues

Brentford

Watermans Arts Centre

40 High St, Brentford TW8 0DS

April 14 – 15 2015, 7.30pm

 

Birmingham

Mac Birmingham

Cannon Hill Park, Queen’s Ride, Birmingham B12 9QH

April 16 – 17 2015, 8pm

London

Rich Mix

E5-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA

April 19 2015, 7.30pm

Cast | Creatives | Crew

Cast and Crew

Writers
Sonali Bhattacharyya, Sharmila Chauhan, Satinder Chohan, Azma Dar, Tanika Gupta, Bettina Gracias, Sayan Kent, Yasmeen Khan, Anu Kumar, Amber Lone, Nessah Muthy and Yasmin Whittaker-Khan
Cast
Patience James, Sheema Kermani, Maggie O'Brien, Aryana Ramkhalawon, Harvey Virdi, Amina Zia
Director
Janet Steel
Choreography
Sheema Kermani
Design
Binita Walia
Costume
Darien Mynarski
Lighting
Chris Corner
Music
Jai Channa
Dramaturg
Sunila Galappat
2013 Cast
Esther McAuley, Yasmeen Khalaf, Joanna Burnett, Amina Zia, Shobu Kapoor, Aryana Ramkhalawon, Clare Perkins, Sukhraj Dhillon, Robin Griffith, Maya Saroya, Avita Jay, Komal Amin, Mariam Haque, Divian Ladwa, Goldy Notay, Asif Khan, Ulrika Krishnamurti, Sakuntala Ramanee, Yasmeen Khan, Valmike Rampersad

Intrepid plays
by fearless women
since 1991

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