Ambitious Tale of Sibling Rivalry

The Great Moghuls Reclaimed in Ambitious Tale of Sibling Rivalry

Prayas Theatre Company presents
DARA
Written by Shahid Nadeem and adapted by Tanya Ronder
Directed by Amit Ohdedar and Sananda Chatterjee

Throwing both light and darkness on a crucial moment in world history, the acclaimed Prayas Theatre Company stages a battle for succession that cuts right to the heart of what it means to be devout, with the magnificently ambitious and highly affecting epic DARA, coming to TAPAC from 14 – 24 June.

1659. Mughal India. The imperial court, a place of opulence and excess; music, drugs, eunuchs and harems. Two brothers, whose mother’s death inspired the Taj Mahal, are heirs to this Muslim empire. Now they fight ferociously for succession.

Dara, the crown prince, has the love of the people and of his emperor father - but younger brother Aurangzeb holds a different vision for India’s future. Islam inspires poetry in Dara, puritanical rigour in Aurangzeb. Can Jahanara, their beloved sister, assuage Aurangzeb’s resolve to seize the Peacock Throne and purge the empire?

It’s a story which feels like it’s ripped from the pages of Shakespeare, an episode of Game of Thrones or the stories of Scheherazade; it’s the dispute that played a key role in shaping India and Pakistan as we know it today. DARA does what all great history plays do: entertain, educate and inform us about our past, but also our present. With a majestic sweep, the play speaks to the real spirit of Islam and the tensions that have always existed between personal religious life and state power. The corruption of religion by those who seek power, individual freedom and conscious all come up for fierce debate. In a political climate of extremism, DARA is the perfect salve, reclaiming heroes and rectifying the distortions of history. Audiences are able to revel in the more humanistic and more embracing depictions of Islam.

Shahid Nadeem’s tale of ambition, betrayal, and at least one severed head, premiered in Lahore, Pakistan in 2010 and has since been seen in Karachi, Islamabad and right across India. It was first translated from Urdu for a major production at the National Theatre of Great Britain in 2015.

Prayas were thrilled to score the rights to the NZ premiere, which they present here in a visually sumptuous, cinematic production with a massive cast of 24. Staged in traverse, the production mashes up traditional Indian theatre techniques with contemporary ones, to glorious songs with both ritualistic form and athletic dances. Moving between past and present, with each informing and complementing the other, the play jumps back and forth in time to capture the source of the sibling rivalry and articulate its consequences.

Prayas are committed to taking audiences beyond cultural notions of Bollywood and butter chicken. With DARA, they take the audience right into the centre of history: the world of the largest, powerful and by far the richest empire of the world at the time. This immersive exploration of idealism, justice and enlightenment is directed by Prayas founder Amit Ohdedar and Sananda Chatterjee, who celebrates her 11 year with this renowned community company. Fresh from creating the Auckland Arts Festival runaway hit, Tea, Ahi Karunaharan takes the reins as Artistic Producer.

Expect new territory to be carved up with this intense domestic drama of global consequence, for India then, and for our world now.

DARA plays
Dates: 14 - 24 June
Time: 7.30pm and 3.00pm
Tickets $25- $35
Book at http://www.tapac.org.nz/events-dara-215

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