South Asian Ambassadors

Saturday (World Party)

1pm - 2pm nihar
2pm - 3pm nihar
3pm - 4pm nasreen
4pm - 5pm
5pm - 6pm nasreen
6pm - 7pm
7pm - 8pm

Sunday (Mela)

1pm - 2pm nasreen
2pm - 3pm
3pm - 4pm
4pm - 5pm nasreen / moksha
5pm - 6pm nihar
6pm - 7pm nihar
7pm - 8pm

Above is the timetable for volunteering at the Summer Festival at Lloyd Park this weekend. Please let me know if you can help out at any of the times unfilled (and please also read post below) Thanx!

Hi everyone!

At the meeting last night we made final arrangements for our participation at the Croydon Summer Festival. As Ambassadors our main goal at the World Party and the Mela will be to promote this Autumn's Live Events. I would dearly love to give you all the latest Clocktower Theatre & Music magazine but unfortunately it isn't back from the printing press yet! It will definitely be with us by Saturday though. As a back up I will post a few details below about what we already know about the 4 South Asian performances. I will also attempt to post a spreadsheet (!!!!how, ooo, arh, eee!!!!) timetable of when we'd like you to volunteer your help. And if you want to help out please email me the times you'd like to do. It would be great if you could volunteer 2 hours (1 hour to be at the stall and 1 hour to go around the festival giving out free prize vouchers - but some of you won't fancy that so that's OK too).

The plan is to have a stall quite near the entrance of the event (near the Clocktower information tent). There should be at least 2 Ambassadors (South Asian and/or Young Ambassadors) at the stall at all times (I will be around all day) - we will have magazines and promotional fliers to give out. The fliers will promote the key South Asian performances and the key performances for young people at the Clocktower this Autumn. The flier above shows the S.Asian live events.

The Trouble with Asian Men Macho men or metrosexual guys? Mummy’s boys tied to the apron, or house husbands under the thumb? These thriving, sassy and spirited men have come a long way, but they’ve all got roots!

Self-made entrepreneurs, pukka professionals and successful executives with their Mercedes Benz lives and designer clad wives…but does the fire still burn in their bellies?

Using only the testimonials of real people, award-winning theatre company tamasha (creator of Strictly Dandia and the original East is East) lifts the lid on modern-day Asian men in this revealing and hugely entertaining new show. Husbands, fathers, brothers, friends and colleagues…you might just recognise someone you know!
“You can bet that whatever is on the cutting edge of multicultural Britain, tamasha have sensed it.” The Herald http://www.tamasha.org.uk/

Zoe Rahman Described in The Observer newspaper as “one of the finest young pianists in Europe”, Zoe Rahman has firmly established herself as one of the brightest stars on contemporary jazz scene. In the words of critic Sholto Byrnes (Independent on Sunday) her new album, Melting Pot, “confirms the pianist as a distinctive voice on the British jazz scene”. The album has been hailed as “one of the most distinctive piano trio albums” (Jazzwise magazine), a “fantastic new album” (Courtney Pine, BBC Radio 2), and “in every way, an impressive sequel to her debut” (Jazz Review).

“Rahman is the brilliant young Asian pianist who is finally beginning to receive the acclaim she deserves. A former Perrier jazz musician of the year, she studied at the prestigious Berklee music school in Massachusetts and has since built up an interesting CV, playing punky worldbeat with Terry Hall and Mushtaq, trancey Arabic folk with singer Reem Kelani, and superior hard bop with drummer Clark Tracey, as well as writing for the theatre. Unlike many of her contemporaries she eschews jazz’s current obsession with the three Bs – Bach, Brad Mehldau and Bill Evans – in favour of a highly individualistic, vibrant style (she plays as if in love with the very sound of the piano), occasionally hinting at Monk or Alice Coltrane but remaining determinedly original. She plays with a compelling drive and shifts effortlessly between meditative and hypnotic pieces, pulsating and tricksy modern bebop, rumbling South African themes and off-beat improvisational lines as heard on her superb recent album ‘Melting Pot’ www.zoerahman.com

DARWAZA KHULA HAI (The Door is Open) Performed in Hindi/Urdu
Set in a Council house in London, Darwaza it tells the story of Bhabo, her two daughter-in-laws, Marzia and Shazia and her friend Rahiman. The character’s stories unfold gradually. Bhado is a traditional wife and mother. Marzia has arrived from Pakistan and hopes for a life of freedom and fulfilment. British-born Shazia want to be a good wide. Rahiman is an independent woman and sexually liberated. By using projected film sequences, this drama portrays the predicament of Asian women and their relationships to men in their lives. The heartbreak lies in the knowledge that many have no other option but to yield to their wishes as society often suppresses their desires for liberation. A daring, yet subtle exploration of sexuality within the Asian community. (No website)

Too Close To Home In a world of extraordinary events, an ordinary Muslim family gathers during Ramadan. During a long day’s journey into night, buried secrets are not the only ones exposed. Rani Moorthy brings her generous warmth to a family catapulted into crisis. As attitudes to Islam divide the generations and a new world challenges religious identity, this powerful drama asks ‘Do you really know what is going on under your own roof?’

“Rarely have I seen such talent or intimate contact with the pulse of this nation” The Independent
This is Rasa’s third visit to the Clocktower after the success of Curry Tales and Pooja. http://www.rasatheatre.co.uk/

Next meeting is on Monday 10th July at 7pm (meet in the balcony bar). We'll make final arrangements for the Croydon Summer Festival Action Plan and I'll update you on where we're at with our promotional tools! Other than that it'll be another chance to socialize and have a chat about what we're all doing. Bernie sent an email around about the Big Goan Festival on Sun 23 July - here's what she wrote (hope some of us can make it along - sounds great!):

Hi all
As promised here is the link for goan events happening in the next few weeks. Maybe we could arrange for a group of us to meet at the Goan festival, which is a bit like the Mela just purely Goan!!!
There will be lovely food on sale and drinks and entertainment and it will be a great chance for you to experience Goan culture at its best. If you are planning on coming there are great transport links and cars cost £2 to come in and £1 per person.

Here is the link

http://goanvoice.org.uk/forthcoming.php

Berni x