Imaginadium's Indian Summer
Finally, it seems we don’t have to keep desperately clutching our fingers crossed in the hope of an Indian summer… we’ve got a full scale, all guns blazing British summertime AT LAST. Now that the weather has sorted its act out, here are Imaginadium’s top tips for a cultural Indian summer… a veritable feast of events celebrating the subcontinent:
London Indian Film Festival: BFI Southbank and other cinemas, 18th-25th July.
When we think of Indian cinema, the mind leaps to the dazzling colours, high drama and spectacular costumes of Bollywood. Celebrating the 100 year anniversary of Indian cinema, this year’s festival will prove testament to the country’s gritty and adventurous, independent film scene. The broad genre spanning programme defies stereotypes and assumptions, by presenting a cinema as richly diverse and contrary as the continent itself. Imaginadium recommends Tasher Desh (Land of Cards) from experimental Director Q – a complex and hallucinogenic exploration of what it means to be free. See it at the ICA on the 21st of July, where the film will be followed by a Q&A with actor Soumyak Kanti De Biswas and production designer Opashona Ghosh.
Indian Tempest : Shakespeare’s Globe, 27thJuly-3rd August.
Footsbarn are an international touring theatre company with a multinational cast. Their take on one of Shakespeare’s most imaginatively rich and intellectually stimulating plays, draws from street theatre, circus, carnival and mime. Performed in English, Malayalam, French and Sanskrit, this isle will truly be full of noises; we are excited about the prospect of seeing Footsbarn’s famously improvisational and eccentric theatre in one of drama’s most famous homes. Furthermore the production promises “a strong flavour of Kerala” and as my experience watching traditional Kathakali dances in this state is still one of my most vibrant performance memories, I will be expecting something truly special.
Charles Correa: India's Greatest Architect: RIBA 66 Portland Place, Until 4th September.
A celebration of one the world’s most distinguished practising architects, this exhibition encompasses images, drawings, photographs, models and films from Charles Correa’s international signature projects. Celebrated for his involvement in Post-Independent architecture in India, he was famously sensitive to the urban poor and held a unique philosophy deeply indebted to people and climate. He has famously said “just as there is writing and then there is literature, there is construction and then there is architecture. Great architecture can change society." Imaginadium urges you to take a change from your average gallery visit and check out this influential and inspirational body of work.
