Pakistan Cultural Society
Art Work
Past Events 2009
 
    Azad Kashmir Folk Music
 
Date: Wednesday 16 December 2009, 7.30pm
Venue: Westgate Community College, West Road, Newcastle NE4 9LU
  
UK based Azad Kashmir Folk Group are recognised as one of the leading exponents of ‘Sher Khawani’ (folk poetry). This traditional music traces its roots back over seven hundred years to the spiritual folk songs of the rugged hill tracks of Pohotowar in Pakistan and regions of Jammu & Kashmir. As a musical style it is closely linked to the spiritual and artistic life of the Sufi saints; Sufism is a mystical school of thought, which strives to attain truth and divine love by direct personal experience.
 
 
    Music of the ASHIGS from Azerbaijan
  
Date: Wednesday 11 November 2009, 7.30pm
Venue: The Sage Gateshead, NE8 2JR
   
The mystic art of ASHIGS creates a rich sound which reflects the ancient Turkic World of Central Asia, Iran, Turkey, Caucasus and North West- China. This powerful and entertaining music is performed by an ensemble of master musicians playing Asian instruments, which were traditionally performed by wandering bards or troubadours; creating a potent force to strengthen the heart and sole.
  
Presented by the Pakistan Cultural Society (PCS) in association with Asian Music Circuit (AMC)  
 
  
  Kitaab: a platform for Multicultural Writing at the Durham Book Festival
  
Date: 23 Oct - 1 Nov 2009
Venues: Multiple venues/ Durham
   
A new strand for multicultural writing at the Durham Book Festival titled 'Kitaab', was launched in 2008 by the Pakistan Cultural Society (PCS) in partnership with Durham City Arts. Kitaab will once again be a prominent feature at the Durham Book Festival this autumn. A fantastic line up of multicultural writers has appeared, presented the following authors:
   
    ZIAUDDIN SARDAR on Balti Britain
  
Part history part biography Ziauddin Sardar’s, Balti Britain, tracks the Asian experience in Britain
Date: Saturday 24 October 2.30pm
Venue: Gala Studio
 
MARINA LEWYCKA & AMANDA CRAIG on Immigration and Friendship
 
Two of Britain’s most astute and funny authors Marina Lewycka and Amanda Craig will be in conversation discussing their new novels, We Are all Made of Glue and Hearts and Minds
Date: Tuesday 27 October, 7.30pm
Venue: Gala Theatre
   
KACHI A OZUMBA
Ozumba’s first novel, The Shadow of a Smile, has already been nominated for a major international prize
Date: Friday 30th October 6pm
Waterstones, Durham
 
YASMIN ALIBHAI BROWN on The Settler’s Cookbook
Join leading journalist and commentator Yasmin Alibhai Brown to hear her talk about her mouth-watering memoir which explores her East African Indian roots
Date: Saturday 31st October, 7.30pm
Venue: Gala Theatre
     
  
     Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Shyama’ – A dance-drama musical
   
Date: Saturday 10 October 2009, 7.30pm
Venue: Westgate Community College, West Road, Newcastle NE4 9LU
 
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s classic 'Shyama' (1939), is regarded by Bengali-speakers around the world in the same light as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This authentic musical interpretation of Shyama is vividly brought to life with a unique combination of song, dance, colour and movement, presented by an ensemble cast of leading North East dancers choreographed by Mohua Kumar and Sharmishta Chatterjee-Banerjee.
  
  
    CHAND SI LARKI
  
Venue: Westgate Community College, West Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 9LU
Date: Wednesday 1st July 2009, 7.30pm
Director: Majid Zaigham
  
  
    Huong Thanh Vietnamese Trio
Presented in association with Asian Music Circuit
  
Date: 3rd June 09, 7pm
Venue: Northern Rock Foundation Hall, The Sage Gateshead
    
Huong Thanh is the great female interpreter of traditional Vietnamese music. The artists have spent their life far from their country, and their music expresses their longing to return. They offer, through the crystalline voice of Huong Thanh, an interpretation of this music bringing out the diversity of the regional flavours and style from all across Vietnam.
“She has a voice that might melt glaciers and make deserts bloom with roses.”  Roots
 
Evaluation/comments:
The average audience feedback for this event was: Excellent 5/5 rating
"Hypnotic quality of the music, both vocal and instrumental"
"Music brings the world together"
"Relaxing and sensual"
"Beautiful"
  
  
    Wuthering Heights
Promoted by Northern Stage

Date Wed 27 May 7.30pm - Sat 30 May (2pm Sat)
Venue: Stage 1, Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne
A Tamasha and Coliseum Theatre co-production in association with Lyric Hammersmith
Based on the novel by Emily Brontë. Original concept by Deepak Verma.

The scorched desert of Rajasthan is the setting for this irrestible musical adaptation of Brontë’s timeless tale of passion, jealousy and revenge.Shakuntala is the fiery and headstrong daughter of spice merchant Singh. Krishan is the wily street urchin from Bombay that Singh brings home after a trip to market.
 
  
    Chitraleka Dance: ‘From Stardust To Life’
 
Venue:  Dance City, Temple Street, Newcastle, NE1 4BR
Date: Wednesday 1 April 2009, 7pm
  
Chitraleka Dance Company presents 'From Stardust To Life', a new dance production that explores links between dance, science and Indian mythology. Music and visuals blend the classical Indian dance style Bharatanatyam with Western contemporary movement take you on a journey back in time and space.
  
    
    Kali Theatre: Another Paradise
  
Venues: Live Theatre, Newcastle & Arc Theatre, Stockton
Dates: Monday 16 March, Tuesday 17th March, 7.30pm
  
Are you who you think you are?
A satirical comedy about sex, corruption and Identity Cards
By Sayan Kent
Directed by Janet Steel
  
   
    International Woman’s Day 2009
  
In celebration of International Woman’s Day and in support of the Black Minority Ethnic Community Organisations Network (BECON), Pakistan Cultural Society (PCS) are screening the following internationally award winning films at the Side Cinema, Newcastle.
  
Fire
Monday 2 March, 7pm
[Deepa Mahta, India, 1996, Cert: 15]
Fire, is a delicate, tender story about two Indian women finding love and their identity in a male dominated household and the bounds of family traditions.
  
Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters)
Sunday 8 March, 2pm
[Sabiha Sumar, Pakistan, 2004]
Silent Waters is an outstanding movie, illustrating the plight of a young girl’s life caught up in the aftermath of the Indian Pakistan Partition in Punjab rural Pakistan.
 
Provoked
Monday 9 March, 7pm
[Jag Mundhra, UK, 2007]
Provoked staring Ashwarya Rai, Robbie Coltrane and Miranda Richardson, is a sensitive Anglo-Indian dramatisation of the real life story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a survivor of domestic violence.
 
Venue: Side Cinema, 1-3 Side, Newcastle, NE1 3JE (Located on Quayside)
     
    Zoe Rahman & Idris Rahman: 'Where Rivers Meet' New Album
     
Venue: The Customs House, Mill Dam, South Shields, NE33 1ES
Date: Wednesday 11 February 2009, 7.30pm
     
Together they have conjured some unique, jazz-inspired interpretations of Bengali music, including the songs of Rabindranath Tagore, Abbasuddin and Hemanta Kumar Mukherjee. The music offers up unique and beautiful improvised music that is utterly compelling in its brilliant meeting of musical worlds.
   
'A wholly original brand of Anglo-Asian music'
Sunday Times
    
    
Past Events 2008
    Indus: Magical Indian & Jazz Fusion
  
Venue: Neville Hall, Mining Instituta (near Central Station), Newacstle, NE1 1SE
Date: Saturday 13 December 2008
Time: 7.30pm
  
Indus are a new music group that brings together four of the finest virtuostic musicians from diverse musical traditions including Indian Classical, Western Classical and Jazz. Characterized by complex tabla beats, exquisite flute phrases, rhythmic santoor patterns and lyrical sitar tones, Indus create an intricate keleidoscope of sound and emotion.
  
"Mesmerising music! I felt very moved after experiencing it."
Audience Comment
 
  
    Islamic Arts & Heritage Festival 2008!!
   
The festival was launched at the Great Hall, Discovery Museum on Saturday 8 November, with a free family fun day. Events and activities were facilitated by 'Silk Roads' including Arab folkloric dance, stories from Arabian Nights, Sufi frame-drumming and Batik workshops. Other events included calligraphy and an amazing aerial performance.
   
   
    Sufi Qawwali: Nizami (India) and Niazi (Pakistan) Brothers
  
Venue: Little Theatre, Saltwell View, Gateshead
Date: Saturday 22 November
Time: 7.30pm
 
QAWWALI – the devotional music of the Sufi’s from the Indian sub-continent - has changed a lot in the last 20 years or so to suit audiences in the West especially the world music audiences. What mattered for such audiences was the driving rhythm rather than the beauty of the lyrics or the melodies woven out of beautiful ragas.
  
There is no doubt that this group is one of the best in the world and they have not yet succumbed to the temptation of changing their style to suit Western audiences. Yes, you can have tremendous rhythm and vocal pyrotechniques but you also have wonderful music based in the traditional ragas of Indian music and poetry.
  
   
    Sufi Egyptian: Al Farabi band and divine Whirling Dervish
   
Venue: Peoples Theatre, High Heaton, Newcastle, NE6 5QF 
Date: Saturday 15 November
Time: 8pm
  
AL FARABI is the creation of master reedflute player and music director Louai Alhenawi who brought together a group of consummate Middle- Eastern musicians to play classical and Sufi music.
   
At the core of the band are traditional Sufi instruments - the haunting ney (reedflute), oud, daf (frame-drum), together with vocals, darbouka (goblet drum), and violin or cello.
  
When instruments blend and join with passionate vocals, and Shafeek whirls ever more hair-raisingly with billowing skirts, then we are reminded of the original name for the band - taraweeh, or 'refreshment of the soul'
   
  
    Sufi Palestinian: Al-Zatouna performes Ila-Haifa
  
Venue: Dance City, Temple Street, Newcastle, NE1 4BR
Date: Saturday 29 November
Time: 7.30pm
 
ALZAYTOUNA is a UK based Palestinian Dabke dance group which aims to provide diverse audiences the opportunity to experience Palestinian Dabke in a variety of performances, workshops and classes.
   
The members of the group are a mixture of Palestinian and other backgrounds who reside in the U.K and feel the necessity to promote Palestinian culture to the West. Dabke is a good means to show Palestinian culture because of its artistic presentation of Palestinian life and celebrations especially in weddings, harvests and other symbols of regeneration.
      
    
    SAMA Festival '08
   
SAMA is a colourful and vibrant week-long festival celebrating the sights, sounds, spirit and spice of South Asian music, arts and culture. Organised by Gemarts, Kalapremi and Pakistan Cultural Society, this week long festival includes an exciting programme of events and festivities including stunning performances by some of the finest musicians, DJs and artists across the UK and South Asia.
  
Date: 6 - 12 October 08
Venues: Selected venues throughout Tyne & Wear
     
SAMA also includes amazing workshops, a literature festival, films, exhibitions, a South Asian Music and Arts Symposium and a spectacular outdoor event on NewcastleGateshead Quayside featuring an Indian market, mouth watering South Asian food and a fun packed day of music, dance and entertainment for all the family to enjoy!
 
Check the SAMA website and sign-up to the SAMA newsletter so you can be one of the first to hear about our exciting programme of future events: http://samafestival.org/
      
  Kitaab: a platform for Multicultural Writing at the Durham Book Festival
      
Date: 17-26 Oct 2008
Venues: Gala Theatre, Durham and Palace Green Library
   
Kitaab included readings from the authors: Sathnam Sanghera, Yasmin Hai, Roopa Farooki, Lemn Sissay and Peter Adegbie. The event was chaired by North East poet Wajid Hussain
"Kitaab" - A platform of Multicultural Writing is a unique initiative by Pakistan Cultural Society (PCS) acknowledging the essence of "World Literature". This is a new strand for multicultural writing within the Durham Book Festival - a platform for multilingual authors/poets/writers to showcase their creativity among wider audience.
For further information visit the website at:
        
     
   
    International Mushaira
  
Venue: Little Theatre, Saltwell View, Gateshead,
Date: Saturday 2nd August 2008
Time: 7.00 pm
   
Participate and enjoy this exciting evening with local, national and international poets. The poetry readings will be in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. Grab this UNIQUE opportunity to share the evening with some world class poets and their poetries and see how they transform the stage into a romantic, upbeat and creative setting.
   
Mushaira 2008 features a poetry performance from the highly acclaimed Aime Hansen. In addition, Peter Adegbie and Lubna Kiran will be talking to Tony Spencer (PCS Arts Development Officer) about their new exciting intercultural project supported by PCS.                                                                                        
  

    
  
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