Beneath the Banyan Tree opens tour at Darlington

To coincide with the their 30th anniversary, the critically acclaimed theatre company, Theatre Hullabaloo, are set to tour the UK with the stage premiere of Emil Sher’s much loved story Beneath the Banyan Tree from 9 October to 20 November, starting the tour at the Darlington Arts Centre.

Beneath the Banyan Tree is a vibrant fusion of theatre, traditional Indian (Bharatanatyam) and Western dance, movement, puppetry and music and will provide a host of opportunities for its young audience to explore their own understanding of themselves as young people in this rich culturally diverse country we live in.

An aspiring dancer, Anjali travels between two worlds: the cold reality of life in the UK, and her imaginary world of colourful animals from the Indian fables of The Panchatantra. In her struggle to be proud of who she is, it is the richness of her culture, the strength of her family and the gifts of imagination and dance that enable Anjali to find the courage to be herself.

To choreograph the production’s mixture of eastern and western dance movements the production team have joined with world renowned South Asian Choreographer Lata Pada who was recently been appointed to the prestigious Order of Canada.

For the production, Theatre Hullabaloo, lead by 29 year old Chief Executive, Miranda Thain, have entered into a dynamic co-producing relationship with Toronto-based Theatre Direct. The two companies have come together with a shared desire to exchange the best of work, examine and re-create productions in each other’s cultural context and share them with their young people. The projects also have the cross-cutting theme of dance as an international language.

Theatre Hullabaloo, who are based at Darlington Arts Centre and formerly known as CTC Theatre, is the North East's only specialist producer of theatre for young audiences. The company make theatre that encourages young people to investigate the wider world of feelings and ideas.

Suitable for children aged 7+ and their families, Beneath the Banyan Tree starts its National tour at Darlington Arts Centre on 9th October and runs until 20th November. For further info and dates the production visits Darlington, visit Theatre Hullabaloo

- by Jane Blagden

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