Indian events are part of the Great Arc Festival, which celebrates 200 years of the quest for knowledge, the arts and adventure in India. The festival showcases the best of Indian theatre, music and dance with Aditi Mangaldas and the Drishtikon Dance Foundation performing 'Textures' an exploration of energy in Kathak form; a new play based on Shakespeare's 'Othello', and another piece of visual theatre, 'Brhhannala' based on the Indian epic Mahabharata, performed by the Adishakti Theatre Company. The Great Arc theatre and dance events run from 22 July - 2 August 2003 at the Riverside Studios in London.

ADITI MANGALDAS & DRISHTIKON DANCE FOUNDATION
TEXTURES
22 - 23 July at 7.45pm £15 (£9 CONCS)

TEXTURES is an exploration of energy and it's various manifestations: in rhythm, in silence, in the self and in passion. Aditi Mangaldas is a Kathak dancer who works with the traditional repertoire of Kathak and infuses it with modern sensibilities. Using the strength of this form, she has attempted to carve out a contemporary vocabulary of her own. She is regarded as one of the leading dancers in both the traditional and contemporary idiom and has performed in major cities of the world to critical acclaim.

OTHELLO IN BLACK AND WHITE
Directed by Roysten Abel.
STUDIO 2
25 - 30 JULY at 7.45pm
£15 (£10 CONCS)

A delightful 'play within a play' where the story of Othello and his jealous, doomed love for Desdemona moves simultaneously with the complex world of the theatre group performing it. The politics of casting and rehearsals stoke the unbridled sexual jealousy and careerist envy of the fictional tale into a vividly parallel life. This multi lingual play is also about the hierarchies of race, society and regions that operate at various levels in India. The production seduces the audience through laughter and intrigue as the confusion on stage confirms unconscious prejudices.

The script has now been adapted for the screen. A preview of the film has been scheduled to coincide with the London performances.A production of United Players Guild, Delhi

ADISHAKTI THEATRE COMPANY -' BRHANNALA'
Performed in English with some Tamil and Malayalee.
STUDIO 2
31 July - 2 August at 7.7.45pm
£15 (£10 CONCS)

Brhannala presents a contemporary allegory using the image of Arjuna the female impersonator as a metaphor for healing the divisions between polarities: male and female, time and space, left and right. It boasts a brilliant performance by actor Vinay Kumar, who tranforms effortlessly from tiger to dog, macho warrior to swaying danseuse, and from Arjuna to Shiva and is beautifully complemented by live music played in the classical Carnatic style.

Led by Artistic Director Veenapani Chawla, one of the foremost experimental theatre exponents of modern India, this Pondicherry based company revitalises traditional theatre through its distinctive interpretation of the highly physical performance forms of Kalaripayattu, Koodiyattam, Kathakali and Chhau.

Brhannala transports us from the earthy sing-song of street theatre to the sublime in this magnetic theatre piece.