Trestle are delighted to confirm that we will be touring The Snow Queen, originally produced by the Unicorn, across India this Summer and the new casting is now complete! Our partners, The British Council in India have been working hard to secure some of the most prestigious festivals and venues for the production; the final tour schedule will be available soon.
We are overjoyed to welcome back Amaka Okafor as Gowri, the brave and intrepid heroine of the Snow Queen story. Pooja Ghai will again play Patti, the Grandmother of the piece whose warmth and belief in Gowri beat at the heart of the play. Asif Khan will return to the company to give his hilarious and touching portrayal of KiKi, the crow rickshaw driver of Mumbai. These three will be joined by Eric Nzaramba (also known as Ery) who developed the play in its early stages as part of the Unicorn Ensemble; he will become Bobby the Bollywood villain. Balvinder Sopal will play the Snow Queen, a tortured soul who presides over the northern lands of Indian with an icy grasp and Jaz Deol will play Kumar, the boy who is entranced by the Snow Queen and taken captive in her ice palace. Shalini Peiris completes the cast, playing Neelima, the glamorous Bollywood star, and Asha the bandit girl.
Photo of the original cast and production team meeting Indian producer Preeti Gonakor at the Alchemy Festival 2012, when the tour was a possibility; Now it is confirmed!
The actors are all ensemble players who will create the worlds of the production, as the story travels from the southernmost tip of India, the seaside town of Kanyakumari, up through Kerala, to Bombay and the Chambal Hills before reaching the Himalayan mountains in the North. Designer Sophia Lovell Smith is re creating the design of the piece, taking into account the varied spaces we will perform in when we reach India. Anupama Chandrasekhar, who is based in Chennai, will be welcoming the production into her home city to open the prestigious The Hindu Metroplus Theatre Festival on August 10th. The Snow Queen will then continue its tour through Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi.
Trestle’s Emily Gray will travel out to India the week before the actors arrive there to run workshops in each of the cities we will be performing in. She will work with all ages, encouraging schools and families to come and see this gorgeous production. The Snow Queen will not only celebrate a highly successful theatrical collaboration between Indian and UK artists, but will also introduce Indian audiences to the high quality theatre for young people for which both Unicorn and Trestle are renowned.
You can follow the all the action of the tour as it unfolds by following @TrestleTheatre searching #SnowQueenIndia on Twitter
