The 27th of January night saw a host of celebrity guests attend the opening night of DARA, the National Theatre’s spectacular new production set in 17th Century Mughal India. Delivering a powerful yet moving performance to a packed audience, the production opened to enthusiastic reviews. Many notable names were in attendance, including; EastEnders cast Kristian Kiehling, Nitin Ganatra, Rakhee Thakrar and Himesh Patel, and stars of stage and screen Ameet Channa, Rez Kempton,Goldy Notay, Shivani Ghai and Preeya Kalidas.
DARA is the National Theatre’s latest production adapted by Tanya Ronder from Shahid Nadeem’s play, originally performed by Ajoka Theatre, Pakistan. The play tells the story of the establishment of the Mughal Empire. Depicting the troubled relationship of two brothers – Dara, the crown prince, and Aurangzeb the younger brother, the play is an emotional journey set to a stunning backdrop of opulence and exoticism.
The play certainly captured the hearts of its audience:
“The images from DARA stayed with me, haunting and vivid. Stunning design and particularly beautiful music.” Rakhee Thakrar
“I really loved the play. The cast were brilliant and the play was an important and really relevant piece of work. So relevant and poignant for our current times. Great to see this collaboration between Pakistan’s Ajoka Theatre and the National Theatre.” Rez Kempton
“DARA – is one of THE best shows I have seen in a long time… From the performances, the striking set, the detailed direction from Nadia Fall, the amazing lighting design that pulls you into 17th Century India to the mesmerising music of Niraj Chag… A real night out at the theatre..!” Ameet Chana.
Spanning the princes’ lives from cradle to grave, DARA is an intense domestic drama of global consequence – for India then and for our world now. The drama is brought to life even more with a stunning score by composer Niraj Chag (Much Ado About Nothing, RSC, 2013).
Directed by Nadia Fall, with design by Katrina Lindsay, DARA stars Esh Alladi, Nathalie Armin, Rudi Dharmalingam, Emilio Doorgasingh, Vincent Ebrahim, Mariam Haque, Indira Joshi, Scott Karim, Nicholas Khan, Ranjit Krishnamma, Anjli Mohindra, Simon Nagra, Ronak Patani, Prasanna Puwanarajah, Anneika
Rose, Chook Sibtain, Gurjeet Singh, Liya Tassisa, Zubin Varla, Anjana Vasan, Gary Wood and Sargon Yelda.
To Book Tickets Visit: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/dara
