Tara Theatre presents BANGLADESH 50 - a trio of projects celebrating half a century of independence

This December, Tara Theatre will celebrate 50 years since the birth of Bangladesh with Bangladesh 50, which will be a season of work that will bring together oral history, virtual reality and immersive performances. 

The season will also pair seven Bangladesh based artists with seven UK artists to co-create new work to explore the diaspora testimonies and celebrate intertwined histories of British Bangladeshi communities.

The first piece is entitled Dawaat and will be a pop-up feast across London for the eyes, ears and taste buds. The piece, created by Abdul Shayek, will explore contrasting narratives and what it means to be diaspora; by sharing food, poetry, live music, spoken word and movement, offering audiences the chance to sit at a communal dining table or within the auditorium. 

In Spring 2022, Bangladeshi women’s experiences will come to the forefront in AMMA, a show which has been produced with artist led workshops with local Bangladeshi women in Birmingham, Walsall, Manchester and London on what it was like to live through the War of Independence in Bangladesh. The history will be scripted by Kamal Kaan in the thought-provoking productions.

The company is also putting out an open call for Bangladeshi and British artists to collaborate in Artists Make Space, which aims to unite pairs of artists to showcase work in Dhaka, Sylhet, Chittagong, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London. Tara Theatre will present the works online as well as in Bangladesh and the UK. 

Artistic Director Abdul Shayek said: “Until fairly recently I knew very little about the birth of Bangladesh, these projects are a culmination of my discoveries and education of the land of my birth. There is an urgency and need to tell and preserve these stories as we are losing the people who helped to create Bangladesh. At the very moment of celebrating its creation, Bangladesh is a nation under threat. In the next 30 years it is projected that Bangladesh will lose up to 11% of its land, displacing millions. These projects are not only a celebration of 50 years, but also a stark reminder that our actions now will determine whether we are able preserve Bangladesh’s rich cultural history, and the very land on which it was created, a place which is strongly linked to Britain’s past, present and future.”

Tickets are available to buy from Tara Theatre here.