The plays of India's most famous (and Nobel Prize winning) playwright, Rabindranath Tagore, have been much neglected in this country and Myriad is producing the UK premiere of his most challenging play, Red Oleander. 80 years since its writing, the play has a special relevance in a world threatened by the forces of national self-interest and state control.

Tagore enjoyed worldwide acclaim as a social, political, religious and aesthetic thinker, innovator and champion of a 'One World' philosophy. This new adaptation of RED OLEANDER will draw on a range of performance traditions of both eastern and western origin, releasing the energy of this richly symbolic text in performance.

Set in a mythological world reminiscent of India's greatest epic poems such as the Mahabharata, the play shows the systematic mechanization of human resources to serve a corrupt tyranny. At its heart is the character of Nandini, a beautiful young girl who inspires a revolution against the cruel regime. She acts as a catalyst for change in a society resigned to its bleak fate working in the goldmines of a great King who is himself imprisoned behind an iron curtain of his own making. Her symbol is the simple red flower of the title from which she draws great resolve and eventually brings a kingdom to its knees.

THE COMPANY

Under the direction of Kevin Rowntree, Myriad Productions is an inter-cultural ensemble specializing in the presentation of rare and challenging world theatre, drawing on a rich heritage of drama from across the globe to create a distinctive approach to performance.

Placing a strong emphasis on movement, gesture, and visual impact, Myriad's methods borrow from the vigorous storytelling techniques of Commedia dell'Arte and English Medieval popular drama as well as the physical traditions of Kathakali and eastern martial arts training. These are combined with the techniques of the epic chorus incorporating music, song and dance to produce "highly energetic performances of great depth and texture."

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