DISHOOM! South Asian Performance Festival

DISHOOM!A South Asian Performance Festival
presented with support from VideoCabaret

From May 24 through 31

DISHOOM! showcases the work of some of Toronto's most exciting South Asian artists in performances ranging from play readings and new work excerpts to standup, storytelling, radio plays, audio/video installation, live music, cooking demonstrations and much more.

Festival highlights include new work from Anita Majumdar; a lively discussion with CBC Radio's Monsoon House director and producer Tracy Rideout and actors Pamela Sinha & Ali Rivzi, moderated by CBC Radio's Aparita Bhandari; improv with Second City's Darryl Hinds, Kris Siddiqi and Rajaram; much sought-after musician Ravi Naimpally of award-winning ensemble Tasa; brilliant Toronto music collective LAL; and more!

A special treat on the roster is a cooking class/conversation with Rajaram, director Ravi Jain and their mothers (!).

DISHOOM! launches on May 24 and runs through May 31
at the Factory Studio Theatre with events scheduled before and after Cowboys & Indians performances.
Single Tickets: PWYC-$15 Day Passes $20-$35 (includes one admission to Cowboys & Indians and all DISHOOM! events for that day)
Factory Studio Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street, Toronto http://www.factorytheatre.ca/
Box Office 416-504-9971
NOTE: A LIMITED number of $40 FESTIVAL PASSES are available exclusively through www.mybindi.com subject to availability. Festival Passes offer one admission to Cowboys & Indians, and entrance to ALL DISHOOM!
Events. http://www.dishoom.ca/

DISHOOM! CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Anchor PresentationOnofono in association with VideoCabaret presentsCowboys & IndiansPreviews Sat May 23 at 7pm and Sun May 24 at 4pm (previews $10)
Opens Tuesday May 26 and runs through to Sun Jun 7 Regular Run: Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30pm to May 31, 8pm thereafter to June 7; and Sun 4pm
Prices: Tues - Thurs $15 / Fri $20 / Sat $25 / Sun & Previews PWYC

@N@f@N@, in association with VideoCabaret, presents the acclaimed clown-mime fantasia Cowboys & Indians, an hilarious piece of physical theatre created and performed by Rajaram with music composed and performed by the celebrated Bob Wiseman. An Eastern Western, this imaginative showdown is wordlessly expressed by Rajaram’s telegraphic body and Wiseman’s eloquent score. Awarded the Spotlight Award at the 2005 Summerworks Theatre Festival and accolades from NOW Magazine in its “fest’s best” list for Outstanding Production and Outstanding Ensemble, Cowboys & Indians explores the romance of cowboy culture through the eyes of a curious outsider who ventures into the Wild West with dreams of living like a cowboy, only to experience the unimaginable.

DISHOOM! Festival Schedule and Special Events –
ALL EVENTS AT FACTORY STUDIO THEATRE.

Saturday May 23
Cowboys & Indians 7pm
Preview Performance PWYC

Sunday May 24
Cowboys & Indians 4pm
Preview Performance $10
DISHOOM! Festival Launch
6pm Opening Remarks,
6:30pm Performance PWYC
Audience members and festival participants are invited to the launch of the inaugural DISHOOM! Festival with a special event hosted by DISHOOM! organizers: food, socializing, and featured special performances by storyteller Rubena Sinha presenting her story River and her son, multimedia artist Debashis Sinha, performing his work, Harmonium.

Monday May 25
Theatre of the Mind featuring An Evening with CBC Radio’s Monsoon House and Darkies: South Asian Improv in the Dark8pm Monsoon House,
9pm Darkies by Donation
Director/producer Tracy Rideout and actors Pamela Sinha and Ali Rivzi of CBC Radio’s hit series host an evening of ‘radio in the dark’ featuring an episode of Monsoon House’s second season. At 9pm, it’s a special comedy bill with ‘improv in the dark,’ featuring the talents of Second City improvisors Anand Rajaram, Darryl Hinds and Kris Siddiqi and FILMI festival director Dinesh Sachdev.

Tuesday May 26
Cowboys & Indians
Special 7:30pm curtain-raiser by Tabla player Ravi Naimpally.
8pm opening night performance of Cowboys & Indians

Wednesday May 27 & Thursday May 28
Day Pass $20
Cowboys & Indians $15 (just C&I)
Special 7:30pm curtain-raiser by Tabla player Ravi Naimpally.8pm performance of Cowboys & Indians DISHOOM! New Works Showcase 10pm $10 (just New Works)

Friday May 29
Day Pass $27
Cowboys & Indians $20 (just C&I)
Special 7:30pm curtain-raiser by Tabla player Ravi Naimpally
8pm performance of Cowboys & Indians
DISHOOM! Comedy Night
10pm $12 (just Comedy)Featuring Ali Rizvi.

Saturday May 30
Day Pass $35
Cowboys & Indians $25 (C&I only)
Special 7:30pm curtain-raiser by Tabla player Ravi Naimpally.
8pm performance of Cowboys & Indians
DISHOOM! Saturday Nite Bash 10pm $15 (just Saturday Nite Bash)

After the curtain comes down on Cowboys & Indians, the Factory Studio will be a hotbed for late-night revelry featuring performances by LAL, Faisal Anwar, and Mint vs Crow.

Sunday May 31
DISHOOM! Generation Sunday Inheritance by Sarena Parmar
2pm by Donation
A special staged reading of a new work by Sarena Parmar which weaves together the stories of three generations of Indian women, moving from 1950s India to present day Canada. We follow Layla's journey to make peace with her roots and "find her own feet."
Cowboys & Indians
4pm Pay-What-You-Can
We Eat With Our Hands with the Rajaram and Jain Families
6pm $10
Anand Rajaram and Ravi Jain have teamed up to create a cooking show which involves the Rajaram and Jain families. Come learn how to cook North and South Indian dishes while hearing the stories of their parents... they are sure you’ll find them as funny as they do! Not to be missed

For schedule, ticket and artist information visit http://www.dishoom.ca/
A limited number of festival passes available at http://www.mybindi.com/
All events are at Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street in Toronto.