DARE
DARE (Disability Arts: Redefining Empowerment) is a five-year project from 2019 to 2024 which aimed at building understanding and confidence amongst the disability and the arts sector in Bangladesh and is aimed to dispel the social stigma associated with disability, and build an accessible bridge between arts, disability and society. The project focused on developing the capacity of artists and persons with disability through a series of training and capacity development programmes in Bangladesh in partnership with UK artists and arts organisations.
Tempest Reimagine
The British Council, in collaboration with Graeae Theatre Company and deaf and disabled artists aimed to create a spoken and signed interpretation of The Tempest, leading to its performance on 2020, in Japan. The play focused on exploring the rich meshing of cultural identities that an international cast can bring and drew artists from Bangladesh, Brazil and Japan who travelled to the UK to learn about and be a part of a spectacular multi-language (signed and spoken) celebration of truly world-class deaf and disabled theatre.
Fearless
A timely play aimed at changing negative perceptions about people with disability and improve understanding around social inclusion, where audiences see the journey of a girl facing unsurmountable odds, but later learn to survive when all the lights go out. Focusing on inclusiveness, this play was produced by the British Council in association with Dhaka Theatre and fully comprised of upcoming theatre artists with disability.
Mukti Aloy Aloy…I am the light
This is the story of a lively teenage girl Ratna, fond of sports and studies, whose life takes a challenging turn when she is forced into child marriage- changing her life forever. Through this shadow and real puppet theatre performance by persons with disabilities, audiences find out whether Ratna loses her life’s battles or finds a light to continue her journey. Debuting in an international festival in Dhaka, this puppet theatre piece was produced by the British Council in association with Together WE CAN with participants from the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP-Bangladesh).
A Different Romeo and Juliet
As a legacy to the London Paralympic Games 2012, the British Council , in partnership with the UK’s Graeae Theatre Company along with one of Bangladesh’s leading theatre companies Dhaka Theatre, produced Bangladesh’s first ever theatre production with persons with disability, called A Different Romeo and Juliet. Across the country, theatre artists with disability from Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP-Bangladesh), Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), Bangladesh Reform Initiatives for Development, Governance and Empowerment (BRIDGE) and Gram Theatre, performed in the play. This unique piece premiered on 2016 and was produced into a film which travelled to different divisional cities of Bangladesh.