16 July: @ 7.30pm

Abida Parveen
Hall One
The Sage Gateshead
St Mary's Square
Gateshead Quays
Gateshead, NE8 2JR.
Tickets: (£18 / £6)
Box Office: 019) 4434661

Known in global music circles as the “Uncrowned Sufi Queen”, Parveen’s inimitable Qawwali sound burrows its way into the soul of the listener, drawing upon love and emotion. Her passionate style and singing range can deliver a performance of songs that hit an array of high and low vocal pitches – perfectly showcasing the talents of this globally sought-after star.

Arts and Islam.
The People's Theatre
Stephenson Road
Heaton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE6 5QL
Free Admission

The following people will be speaking or performing during the free arts seminar (9.30am – 4.30pm). Jameela Siddiqui - accomplished writer and presenter; Reem Kelani - Palestinian singer; Khayaal Theatre - Storytellers; Mark Robinson - Executive Director of Arts Council England, North East.

Other aspects of the event will include: An exhibition of paintings by Walsall-based Ulfah Arts (including work by artist Shaheen Ahmed and Anfal Saqib) and the event will conclude with a special screening of Sufi Soul: The Mystical Music of Islam, a fantastic documentary about Sufi Music – directed by Simon Broughton, a recognised authority of World Music (commissioned by Channel 4).

Places on the seminar can be booked by contacting the PCS on (0191) 2743030 or via email pakistanculturalsociety@btconnect.com

Samsalamat
The Journal Tyne Theatre
105-119 Westgate Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4AG
Tickets: £5 (full)
Box Office 0191 274 3030

Bakhshi Javed Salamat (BJS) has teamed up with UK samba band Sambangra, to deliver an electrifying performance under the name – Samsalamat. When Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan died in 1997, the art of Sufi Qawwali, took a huge body blow, but there is no doubt that Bakhshi Javed Salamat carries the art of Qawwali forward

dli Museum & Durham Art Gallery
Aykley Heads
Durham
County Durham
DH1 5TU.
Free Outdoor Event

BJS Qawwal (Bakhshi Javed Salamat) will be performing at the PCS & Kalapremi UK partnership outdoor event, a traditional Pakistani Qawwali concert on the grounds of the dli Museum & Durham Art Gallery. This free event is part of the World Culture 2006 Festival and is the first stage of a 2-day event entitled Vividha. This event is also supported by County Durham Council and Northern Rock Foundation.

BJS Qawwal - this collaborative group is a superb exponent of traditional Pakistani Qawwali – generating the style of music with roots in Sufi mysticism that can move the audience through trance to a higher spiritual state.

Ajoka Theatre 'Bulleh Shah'
Gosforth Civic Hall
Regent Centre
Gosforth
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE3 5HD
Tickets: £15 (full)
Box Office: 0191 274 3030

The play is based on the life events of ‘Sufi’ poet Baba Bullah Shah.

Ajoka Theatre - a theatre for social change: Ajoka has been part of the struggle for a secular, democratic just, humane and egalitarian Pakistan for the last 21 years. Few cultural institutions have been able to thrive, even survive, in the climate of hostility and apathy towards performing arts that has existed in Pakistan. Ajoka is an exception. Set up by a small group of cultural activists in 1983, during General Zia-ul-Haq’s politically and culturally repressive regime, Ajoka has struggled with determination against very heavy odds.