‘Sigh of the Musaafir’ show promises to bring an exotic theatrical experience to Birmingham

‘Sigh of the Musaafir’ – an exciting new theatrical experience comes to Birmingham Repertory Theatre this month that weaves music, dance, poetry, and visuals to tell the story of the Indus Valley as part of the ‘Transforming Narratives‘ project.

The Indus Valley, one of the ‘cradles of civilisations’, has witnessed the biggest mass migrations in human history leading to the ‘Partition’ in 1947, the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 and post-war migration to Britain.

The peoples of the Indian subcontinent have been on an epic journey and this pilot production traces the paths taken across, through and beyond the boundaries of time and space by the peoples of Pakistan.

Director Mukhtar Dar (Kalaboration Arts), who previously brought ‘Dub Qalandar’ to Symphony Hall and also the annual ‘Simmer Down’ festival in Handsworth Park, returns with ‘Sigh of the Musaafir’. This new production combines text, spoken word, sound-scapes, dance, visual projections and live music to bring to life a story that is rarely heard upon European stages.

‘Sigh of the Musaafir’ is a cutting-edge international collaboration featuring artistes from Pakistan and Birmingham, including:

Arif Lohar (award-winning singer – Lahore)
Arieb Azhar (writer and singer – Karachi)
Suhaee Abro (dancer and choreographer – Karachi)
Nirmala Maghani (singer from Tharpakar desert, Pakistan)
Azhar Hussain (qawwali singer – Birmingham)
Roach-Killa (rapper – Birmingham)

Plus an ensemble of stellar musicians including:

Waqas Hussain (Sitar)
Gul Muhammad (Saarangi)
Mendi Singh (tabla)
Waqas Choudhry (Flute)
Tubzy (Dholki)

This event is part of the launch of the ‘Transforming Narratives’ project – a three-year initiative, which aims to establish Birmingham as a leading international centre for contemporary South Asian arts practice, for the mutual benefit of Birmingham and cities in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

‘Sigh of the Musaafir’ will be performed on Saturday 23rd March (7.45pm) at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. For more details, including ticket availability, please click here.