CURVE PLAY ON PINK SARI GANG GETS ARTS COUNCIL GRANT

Curve has been awarded Arts Council England funding to adapt Amana Fontanella-Khan’s critically acclaimed narrative account Pink Sari Revolution for the stage.

The £100,000 award is part of Art Council England’s ‘Reimagine India’ programme that aims to develop new work and collaborations between arts and cultural organisations in England and India. The project marks the 70th anniversary of the partition of India and Pakistan.

Pink Sari Revolution: A Tale of Women and Power in The Badlands of India recounts the real-life story of India’s ‘Pink Sari Gang’, an activist sisterhood and mass movement of over 20,000 pink-sari-wearing women across Northern India who fight against the oppression of women. The story centres on leader Sampat Pal and their 2010 campaign to free falsely imprisoned teenager Sheelu Nishad after she was raped by a prominent local politician.
This new award follows a grant last year which enabled research and development of the story to be carried out in Northern India.
Pink Sari Revolution will premiere at Curve in 2017, be performed in parts of India and then embark on a UK tour.

Curve Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said in a joint statement: “We are thrilled to have received an Arts Council England Reimagine India grant to support our adaptation of Amana Fontanella-Khan’s incredible novel. We are truly honoured to be given the opportunity to bring this remarkable story to our stage and share it with audiences across our region and beyond, following an extensive period of research and development both here and in India. Pink Sari Revolution will premiere on our stage in late 2017 before we embark on a series of national and international touring dates. As always, we are indebted to Arts Council England for supporting this important piece of work.”
Arts Council England’s Area Director, Peter Knott, said: “We’re delighted to be investing in Curve’s adaptation of Pink Sari Revolution. Our Reimagine India funding is all about helping cultural organisations strengthen their international connections by developing creative exchanges between the UK and India. With our support for this new production and tour, we hope Curve continues to attract, entertain and inspire more people at home and internationally.”

ENDS.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Curve is a spectacular state-of-the-art theatre based in the heart of Leicester’s vibrant Cultural Quarter. Opened in 2008 by Her Majesty The Queen, the award-winning building was designed by acclaimed architect Rafael Viñoly.

Curve is a registered charity providing engaging world-class theatrical experiences for local communities, enabling people of all ages and backgrounds to access, participate in and learn from the arts, nurturing new and emerging talent, and creating world-class theatrical experiences.

Under the leadership of Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster, Curve is developing a reputation for producing, programming and touring a bold and diverse programme of musicals, plays, new work and dance. All of this presented alongside a dynamic mix of community engagement and learning opportunities, which firmly places audiences and communities at the heart of what Curve does. Recent productions and co-productions Made At Curve include: Legally Blonde: The Musical (& Daegu Opera Festival, South Korea), Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s (& Haymarket Theatre, London & national tour), Ishy Din’s Wipers (in collaboration with Belgrade Theatre Coventry & Watford Palace), Roald Dahl’s The Witches (& national tour), Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Hairspray, Shakespeare’s Richard III, Akram Khan’s Until the Lions, Sue Townsend’s The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ – The Musical, and Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing (& national tour).

Curve is the proud joint winner of the UK Theatre Award for Promotion of Diversity.

Curve’s production of Legally Blonde: The Musical recently won two top awards at the Daegu International Musical Festival in South Korea.

Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2015 and 2018, we plan to invest £1.1 billion of public money from government and an estimated £700 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

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