Cast Announced for The Djinns of Eidgah_at the Royal Court Theatre

PRESS RELEASE

Cast Announced for The Djinns of Eidgah at the Royal Court Theatre

The cast has been announced for The Djinns of Eidgahby Indian playwright Abhishek Majumdar in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from Fri 18 Oct – Sat 9 Nov (press night Tuesday 22 October). The cast is Danny Ashok, Raj Bajaj, Paul Bazely, Ameet Chana, Jaz Deol, Ayesha Dharker, Vincent Ebrahim, Aysha Kala and Nikesh Patel.

“It is not a war of right and wrong. For cars and jobs. Of books and blankets. It’s a war of the living and the dead. Between those who are fighting for tomorrow and those who are laying down their lives for eternity.”

Ashrafi and Bilal are orphaned siblings stranded and defined by the troubles in Kashmir. 18 year old Bilal is the pride of the region, part of a teenage football team set for great heights and pushed to the limits by the violence around them. Haunted by hope, his sister is caught in the past, and Bilal is torn between escaping the myths of war and the cycles of resistance.

Interweaving true stories and testimonies with Islamic storytelling, the play paints a magical portrait of a generation of radicalised kids, and a beautiful landscape lost to conflict.

Djinn
n. pl. jinn also djinn
In Muslim legend, a spirit often capable of assuming human or animal form and exercising supernatural influence over people.

The Royal Court has worked with emerging playwrights in India for over ten years. Abhishek Majumdar’s The Djinns of Eidgah was developed as part of a project in collaboration with Rage Productions Mumbai and the British Council in 2010, which challenged 12 writers from all over India to write a play asking urgent questions about their changing country. The final plays were all performed in their original language as part of the Writers Bloc Festival at the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai in January 2012 and a selection, including The Djinns of Eidgah, were then chosen to be performed as readings at the Royal Court in November 2012.

Abhishek Majumdar is an Indian playwright and director who grew up in Delhi and now lives in Bangalore. He writes in English, Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu) and Bangla. He is the artistic director of the Indian Ensemble and a winner of the Metro Plus Playwriting award for his play Harlesden High Street which was produced by Tara earlier this year. His other work includes Rizwaan (Urdu/ English), Lucknow ’76, An Arrangement of Shoes and Afterlife of Birds. His latest play as a director, Gasha (Hindi/ Urdu/ Kashmiri) won the best play award at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards, New Delhi. He studied theatre at LISPA (London International School of Performance Arts) and attended the 2011 Royal Court International Residency to work on The Djinns Of Eidgah which was produced at the Writers Bloc Festival and in other parts of India in 2012.

Richard Twyman directs. International Associate at the Royal Court, he recently directed PIIGS for Open Court. Richard directed The Djinns of Eidgah for Rage Theatre in Mumbai as part of the Writers Bloc Festival. He has worked extensively at the RSC, including on The Histories Cycle which won Olivier Awards for Best Ensemble & Best Revival and the Evening Standard Editor’s Choice Award, and for which he directed Henry IV Pt II. His other credits include Ditch at the Old Vic Tunnels/HighTide, Dr Marigold & Mr Chops at Bath Theatre Royal, Sixty-Six Books at the Bush Theatre and Give Me Your Hand (nominated for a Drama Desk Award), at the Irish Rep, New York.

The Djinns of Eidgah is presented as part of International Playwrights: A Genesis Foundation Project, with additional support from the British Council.

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For more information, please contact Anna Evans on 020 7565 5063 annaevans@royalcourttheatre.com

Notes to Editors:

Cast:
Danny Ashok Bilal
Raj Bajaj Khaled
Paul Bazely Soldier 1 /Abbajaan
Ameet Chana Mushtaq
Jaz Deol Soldier 2
Ayesha Dharker Dr Wani
Vincent Ebrahim Dr Baig
Aysha Kala Ashrafi
Nikesh Patel Djinn

Creative Team:
Richard Twyman Director
Tom Scutt Designer
Natasha Chivers Lighting Designer
Benedict Taylor Composer
David McSeveney Sound Designer

Listings Information:

The Djinns of Eidgah
by Abhishek Majumdar
directed by Richard Twyman
Fri 18 Oct – Sat 9 Nov 2013
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS
Monday-Saturday* 7.30pm
Saturday Matinees (from 26 October) 3pm
Thursday Matinees (from 24 October) 3pm
Captioned Performance Thursday 7 November 7.30pm
Press Night Tuesday 22 October, 7pm
Age Guidance 14+
Tickets £20 Mondays all seats £10
Concessions £15* (available in advance until 26 Oct incl, and all matinees. For all other performances, available on a standby basis on the day)
School and HE Groups of 8+ £10 (avail. Wed-Sat and mats)
Access £12 (plus a companion at the same rate)
*ID required. All discounts are subject to availability.

*Cast Biographies

Danny Ashok’s theatre credits include Disgraced at The Bush, The Royal Duchess Superstore at The Broadway and Small Fish Big Cheese at the Unico

Raj Bajaj’s theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing at the RSC, Snow Queen at The Unicorn.

Paul Bazely last appeared at the Royal Court in Ayub Khan Din’s East Is East. His other theatre credits include White Rabbit Red Rabbit at Brighton Festival, Really Old Like 45 at the National and Timing at King’s Head. His television credits include Benidorm.

Ameet Chana’s credits include Back of the Throat at The Old Red Lion, Bollywood: Yet another love story at Riverside Studios and on television, he played the role of Adi Ferreira in Eastenders. On screen his credits include Bend It Like Beckham.

Jaz Deol’s theatre credits include Snookered at the Bush, Ruffled for Theatre 503 and Doctor Faustus for Present Moment. His screen credits include The Show and Honeycomb Lodge.

Ayesha Dharker last appeared at the Royal Court in Disconnect. Her stage credits include Arabian Nights for the RSC. On screen she has appeared in The Indian Doctor, Coronation Street, Doctor Who, The Terrorist and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

Vincent Ebrahim last appeared at the Royal Court in Credible Witness. His stage credits include The Empress for the RSC, The Great Game for the Tricycle and on tour and Nathan the Wise for the Hampstead. His television credits include Meet the Magoons, The Kumars at No. 42 and Ideal.

Aysha Kala’s stage credits include Khadija is 18 for the Finborough and Much Ado About Nothing for the RSC. On television she has appeared in Vicious and Shameless.

Nikesh Patel last appeared at the Royal Court in Disconnect. His stage credits include Donny’s Brain for the Hampstead and The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice for the RSC. On television he appeared in Bedlam.

The Djinns of Eidgah by Abhishek Majumdar is presented as part of International Playwrights: A Genesis Foundation Project.

The Genesis Foundation supports the Royal Court’s International Playwrights Programme. It funds the International department’s workshops in diverse countries as well as residencies at the Royal Court that find and develop the next generation of professional playwrights. The Foundation’s involvement extends to productions and rehearsed readings which helps the Royal Court to provide a springboard for young writers to greater public and critical attention. For more information, please visit www.genesisfoundation.org.uk

The Royal Court Theatre is supported by Coutts

Coutts is the UK private banking arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Coutts has a long history of supporting the arts going back 200 years, having looked after the financial affairs of many famous clients connected with the arts such as Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens and Chopin. In 1816, Thomas Coutts married Harriot Mellon, a popular actress of her day, and together they became partners of a number of London Theatres, including the Drury Lane and the Royal Opera House. Coutts has even featured in a number of artistic works including The Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In the new millennium, this tradition has continued not only through managing the finances of many of today’s top writers, actors and musicians, but also through our arts sponsorship programme and we are delighted to support The Royal Court and its diverse range of ground-breaking performances.

Royal Court Theatre Innovation Partner

The Djinns of Eidgah by Abhishek Majumdar is supported by British Council. For more information on the British Council and its work, please visit www.britishcouncil.org.

The Royal Court Theatre’s Flight Partner is American Airlines
American Airlines supports the Royal Court by providing transatlantic flights. For more information on American Airlines or our support of theatre, contact our press office at polly.tracey@aa.com.