Shakespeare brings Afghan culture to the world stage
31 May 2012
The performance of Shakespeare’s ‘Comedy of Errors’ by Afghanistan’s Roy-e-Sabs company at the Globe theatre represents a triumph for international cultural relations, according to the British Council’s director of Arts, Graham Sheffield.
Speaking at a reception to mark the production, which forms part of the ‘Globe to Globe’ festival, Mr Sheffield explained: "The arts are important to nationhood, not only in helping to establish a unique and cohesive identity, but also in sharing that identity with the world. Live performance can change the way we see the world and our place in it. We welcome these performances by Roy-e-Sabs which I am sure will open the eyes of the British audience not only to a fresh and original view of the play, but also to the rich culture of Afghanistan.”
Roy-e Sabs is spearheading the revival of performing arts in Afghanistan. In these last decades of conflict many Afghans have had little opportunity to turn their minds to the arts, let alone theatre, but slowly this is changing for the better. The restoration of Afghanistan’s cultural traditions by various foundations is creating a meaningful future for scores of Afghans. With a strong emphasis on creating a better environment for young female and male artists, the work of Roy-e Sabs is reviving an established tradition of storytelling in Afghanistan as well as a more recent love of theatre.
The British Council has worked with Roy-e-Sabs since 2005, in order to widen overseas perceptions of the strength, character and culture of the Afghan people. This is critical to enabling them to develop their own new national identity though a robust sense of cultural legacy and diversity. Forging UK and Afghan cultures into co-production is a heartening take on the post-2014 ‘enduring partnership’. The British Council believes that cultural development is critical in fragile states and areas experiencing conflict.
On 20 August 2011 the next round of rehearsals for Roy-e-Sabs' 'Comedy of Errors' were due to commence in the garden of the British Council compound in Kabul. On 19 August, the day before, suicide bombers attacked the British Council in an eight-hour gun battle which left 14 people dead and the compound completely destroyed.
Paul Smith, the British Council’s director in Afghanistan said: “Even the work of cultural and educational relations can arouse political hostility in today's Afghanistan. But the work of the British Council, to help the Afghan people secure their national security and eventual prosperity, continues. Part of that endeavour is to stimulate Afghan creative expression and to help broaden and improve the image of Afghanistan overseas. That is why we helped initiate this extraordinary Afghan production of an early Shakespeare comedy. Afghanistan is not all war and violence. It is also a people seeking their identity and meaning, not unlike the twins in this play. The play will help to show another Afghanistan and to remember that there are comedies, as well as tragedies, of errors in all societies.”
ENDS
For more information please contact Tim Sowula, Snr Press Officer. 0207 389 4871 or tim.sowula@britishcouncil.org
About Shakespeare’s Globe
Founded by the pioneering American actor and director Sam Wanamaker, Shakespeare’s Globe is a unique international resource dedicated to the exploration of Shakespeare’s work and the playhouse for which he wrote, through the connected means of performance and education. Together, the Globe Theatre, Globe Exhibition and Tour and Globe Education seek to further the experience and international understanding of Shakespeare in performance.
The Shakespeare Globe Trust is a registered charity No.266916. Shakespeare’s Globe receives no ongoing public subsidy
The World Shakespeare Festival is a celebration of Shakespeare as the world’s playwright, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, in an unprecedented collaboration with leading UK and international arts organisations, and with Globe to Globe, a major international programme produced by Shakespeare’s Globe. It runs from 23 April to November 2012 and forms part of London 2012 Festival, which is the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad, bringing leading artists from all over the world together in a UK-wide festival in the summer of 2012.
The World Shakespeare Festival and Globe to Globe is funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor.
British Council support for World Shakespeare Festival
The World Shakespeare Festival is a celebration of Shakespeare as the world's playwright, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in an unprecedented collaboration with leading UK and international arts organisations and including Globe to Globe, produced by Shakespeare’s Globe. It is part of the London 2012 official programme. The British Council is supporting the following international partnerships and the related education programme:
Globe to Globe produced by Shakespeare’s Globe:
- Cymbeline (South Sudan)
- Taming of the Shrew (Pakistan – 25-26 May)
- Comedy of Errors (Afghanistan – 30-31 May)
Co-productions with the RSC:
- Two Roses for Richard III (Brazil)
- The Dark Side of Love (Brazil/UK youth theatre production)
- Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad (Iraq)
- A Soldier in Every Son – An Aztec Trilogy (Mexico)
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Russia)
- Macbeth Leïla and Ben – A Bloody History (Tunisia)
RSC education projects:
- Worlds Together – international conference on excellence in teaching Shakespeare in schools, Sept 2012.
- Shakespeare: A Worldwide Classroom – BC/RSC schools 2012 programme linking artists, teachers and thousands of young people in the UK, Brazil, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, India, Oman, South Africa and the USA.
About the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival
The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements. Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people.
The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad will be the London 2012 Festival, bringing leading artists from all over the world together from 21 June 2012 in this UK-wide festival – a chance for everyone to celebrate London 2012 through dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, fashion, film and digital innovation.
Principal funders of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival are Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor. BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival.
For more details visit www.london2012.com/festival
The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. We are a Royal Charter charity, established as the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.
Our 7000 staff in over 100 countries work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year through English, arts, education and society programmes.
We earn over 75% of our annual turnover of nearly £700 million from services which customers pay for, education and development contracts we bid for and from partnerships. A UK Government grant provides the remaining 25%. We match every £1 of core public funding with over £3 earned in pursuit of our charitable purpose.
For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org or call our Press Office on +44 (0)20 7389 4268. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through http://twitter.com/britishcouncil and http://blog.britishcouncil.org/.
