(PROMOTED) – Sohaya Visions and Mukul and the Ghetto Tigers Present: ‘Silent Sisters’

October 2 2016

PRESS RELEASE

A gripping new drama based on British Asian Stories about the partition of India, written by Raminder Kaur and directed by Mukul Ahmed.

THE SHOW will be performed at The Hawth Theatre, Crawley on Monday October 3 at 7.30pm & Attenborough Centre, University of Sussex on Tuesday, October 4 at 6pm.

“Silent Sisters” is based on the real-life experiences of those who lived through the partition almost 70 years ago and serves as a tribute to the millions of people affected by the bloody event which led to the creation of two new nation states of India and Pakistan.

The partition saw over 10 million people displaced, thousands of people abused, abducted, forcibly converted and more than half a million Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus dead.

Based on interviews and workshops with the children of survivors now in Britain – the eldest aged 91 – “Silent Sisters” is a fictional story in which two women, Noor, a Muslim and Amrit, a Sikh-Hindu find themselves thrown together while the madness of communal violence is unleashed in 1947.

Their relationship is a tense one that begins to show moments of affection based on the fact that they are women who have had to go through several arduous trials. The insanity of the moment is captured in moments of satire and the setting of the drama.

The writer, Raminder Kaur, a professor of Anthropology and Cultural Studies, at the University of Sussex, explained that her play is based on research, including interviews and workshops with British Asians about India’s partition, migration and refugees.

She says: “even though partition was a momentous occasion there is a tendency to brush things under the carpet. Some stories were hard to relate by participants, and there is a lot that remains unsaid and unknown. But all agreed that future generations must not forget this episode in history, and that racist and communalist surges need to be curbed.”

The play is produced by Sohaya Visions and Mukul & Ghetto Tigers and is funded by the Arts Council and the University of Sussex’s Asia Centre.

The 60-minute long performance, includes poetry, song, music and movement, and is suitable for those aged eight and above. There will also be an audience discussion after the performance with the cast and crew.

Renowned Delhi-based artist, Arpana Caur, gave her kind permissions to use her painting for publicity.

These two public sharing’s are free to audiences as a way of engaging the community and getting the wider public to understand the trauma suffered by those who lived through the period and its impact on subsequent generations.

A full length play will be developed for a regional and national tour in 2017 as part of the 70 Years commemoration of the Partition of India and that forms Sohaya Visions commitment to tell stories from the South Asian heritage.

The performance at the Attenborough Centre is now full, but there are seats still available at the Hawth Box Office 01293 553636.

For further information please contact
sohayavisions@gmail.com and sumanbhuchar@gmail.com

You can also contact us via the following social media networks:

http://www.facebook.com/SilentSisterstheplay/
Twitter @SohayaV
@ace_southeast (funders)

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