Rays of Light – Show

Friday 29th November 2024 – 7:30pm – Shaw Theatre, 100, 110 Euston Rd, London NW1 2AJ

Tickets available at https://shaw-theatre.com/whats-on/rays-of-light

Tour Dates

Friday 29th November 2024 – 7:30pm – Shaw Theatre, 100, 110 Euston Rd, London NW1 2AJ

Tickets available at https://shaw-theatre.com/whats-on/rays-of-light

This is a new musical based on Satyajit Rays’s work which includes the three generations – his father Sukumar Ray and grandfather Upendra Kishore, all of whom were artistes of great repute.

The Project is called Rays of Light and includes artistic works created by the trio through spoken word, anecdotes and narratives through performance – music, dance, play and the visual arts.

SHOW

A proposal for a UK tour Autumn 2022

on

The brilliant Ray family that dazed India and the world

To understand them in the modern context

To bring youa story, in full glory, of Bengals’ three greatest knights

Upendra Kishore, Sukumar, Satyajit, U Ray & Sons, three Rays of light

Of Tuntuni, Raja and the Tiger and whimsical rhymes from Abol Tabol

Not the ABC of reason but the nonsense alphabets of Hojoborol

Song of the Road ‘Pather Panchali’ and ‘Jalsaghar’ the Music Room Caring love of fellow men, to redeem today’s pallid doom & gloom’

This show will re-live the exploits of the pioneering Ray family across three generations, that created children’s chronicles, nonsense rhymes, detective stories, surreal music and the most wonderful films ever to come out of the sub-continent.

Introduction

The show will start with excerpts from Satyajit Ray talking about his father, grand-father, and himself. The show will highlight how they evolved with the times and discuss the genres of creativity they embraced

The show starts with music with Upendrakishore Brahmo Sangeet

Narration Upendrakishore biography

His life and times

His childhood

Life in Kolkata

Printing

Role of his pioneering work in Indian publications

His papers and discoveries of half tone printing

His illustrations

Later life

Play in English on translation from Tuntuni stories

Translations

Narration

Sukumar Roy Biography

His inspirations: English nonsense writers

Works of Edward Lear

Works of lewis Carroll

Narration

Sandesh and children’s periodicals

Pioneer’s of nonsense literature

Translation play from Ho JO BO RO Lo

Abol Tabol rhyme dance

Early life / Late life Satyajit Ray

Ray’s Inspirations for Art

His Art and role as illustrator

Inspirations for his films e.g. Kurasawa

Pather panchali excerpt with music

Narration

Ray & Music

Jalsaghar scene with dance

Ray & Tagore intertwined

Charulata scene with play,song and dance

Ray and classical music and history

Shatranj Ki Khiladi scene with Wajid Ali Shah(Akhtar Piya) compositions and dance

Ray & photography

Ray as writer

Feluda stories, Shonku stories enacted

Finale – intertwining compositions from all three

Potential additional events around the tour

Ray Films

Poetry from all three and other Indian/Bengali poets including Urdu Shairis

Children’s literary event