‘Songs of the Bulbul’ – audiences lock it away in their hearts and keep it…
Also on this page…
🎥 London Indian Film Festival (July 9-16)
🎭 A London Lark Rising (street theatre, walking tour)
A Journey of Transcendence…
AAKASH ODEDRA’S incredible ‘Songs of the Bulbul’ is on a short UK tour and comes to Sadler’s Wells East venue this coming week. (See listings below or banners on site).
A blend of mostly Kathak and contemporary dance, it’s a searing work accompanied by a huge, epic grand cinematic score by composer Rushil Ranjan.
The pair came together to create this sweeping solo – based on a common folk tale told in Asia – where a bulbul or nightingale is captured and systematically blinded – each gradual loss of sight causes the bird to lament with ever increasing beauty and power…so, while it physically declines, its soul expresses something deeper, primordial and haunting…
Some see it as a metaphor of current times, where cruelty parades as reason but the truth lies below surfaces and beyond superficialities.
Odedra performed an excerpt at the Spring concert of AR Rahman and Rushil Ranjan and Abi Sampa at the Royal Albert Hall (you can see in a small clip in our marketing reel and longer with the link to post concert reel – both links below).
Called ‘Rangreza’, the whole evening was devoted to Sufi style music and Ranjan and Sampa’s unique blending of Qawwali (song) and more traditional small group vocals backed by the full Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Melvin Tay*, was a first for Oscar and Grammy winner Rahman. Rahman’s Chennai based Sunshine Orchestra also participated in the concert.
Now the full 60 minute ‘Songs of the Bulbul’ returns to the capital following its 2025 tour and also goes to Cambridge on July 21.
Earlier this year, Odedra met the Princess of Wales Kate who visited Leicester during Holi.
*It’s been announced that Tay will conduct live the Philharmonic orchestra for the new restored 4K screening of one of the Hindi film industry’s most iconic films, ‘Sholay’ at the Royal Albert Hall on October 10...it first screened in the UK last year…
Akaash Odedra on Songs of The Bulbul previously
https://www.instagram.com/p/DaQ4eIZu8SY (p) means promoted
https://www.instagram.com/p/DXjqLZSiT4A
July 7-11 (London) Sadler’s Wells East London, 101 Carpenters Road, London E20 2AR – see here for tickets
July 21 – The Arts Theatre, 6 St Edward’s Passage, Cambridge CB2 3PJ – tickets
London Indian Film Festival (Liff) – Bollywood glam, Arundhati Roy, and British comedy reunion
BOLLYWOOD star Aamir Khan is the star attraction at this year’s London Indian Film Festival (Liff) from July 9-16.
Fellow actor and producer Neha Dhupia and global writing icon Arundhati Roy are the other big names coming to Liff.
Khan has a three-decade career at the top of the Hindi film industry and has moved into producing more latterly. He will be in conversation at the BFI Southbank and has been talking recently more about his best-known film in the West, the Oscar-nominated ‘Lagaan’ which marks its 25th anniversary this year. It isn’t listed yet with whom he will be speaking on stage (at the time of publication as dated).
Dhupia comes along with the opening film – a European premiere for ‘52 Blue’ – an appropriate football tale as the World Cup Football Finals continues this month. The film charts the experiences of an Indian man who journeys to Qatar to follow his idol Argentinian legend, Lionel Messi, during the last edition in 2022. Directed by award-winning Ali Eli Arabi, who will be present and feature in the post Q&A, this is described as “a rousing tale of self-discovery and love”.
Roy attends for the first UK screening of ‘In Which Annie Gives It Those’ – a 1989 film set in the 1970s and charting the life of a laid-back female architecture student in Delhi. It’s been completely restored in 4K and enhanced and world premiered in this new format at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year – acv was there. Directed by Pradip Krishen, Roy has a part and wrote the film. One of India’s biggest film stars, Shah Rukh Khan appears in an early cameo too.
Among the other highlights is the cast of the global hit BBC comedy sketch show, ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ coming together at the BFI to discuss its impact. Billed as ‘reunion’, it will feature Sanjeev Bhasker and Meera Syal – the couple first worked together on the show; Nina Wadia and Kulvinder Ghir. It is on the BFI Southbank next Saturday (July 11). Tickets were available for this at the time of publication…
More About tickets...
The Aamir Khan in Conversation at Liff is showing as sold out but our experience is that nearer the time, some tickets do become available, so do check and the same with the Goodness Gracious Me Reunion. Tickets are also available for the opening film and in our experience a great way to meet and network with other festivalgoers! The festival also goes to Birmingham and Manchester with these films featured above travelling their with the talent too but check everything on the Liff website (see below).
https://londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk
Take a walk into East India Company history this summer
FINALLY… returning is a revamped and overhauled version of ‘A London Lark Rising’ – this is street theatre and a walking tour combined.
It weaves its way around the City of London (near Liverpool St station) and the famous connected buildings of Empire, telling you the story of the East India Company through Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Mughal emperor Jahanghir and Robert Clive, one of the most notorious characters in the history of the British Empire. Written by Anu Kumar Lazarus, it’s performed on certain days – July 19 and to find out further details, please check the link below.
https://ticketlab.app/event/37486-A-London-Lark-Rising-2026-tickets#
Previously …
