Details

It is uncomfortably hot in Jhang, a small town in Pakistan's fertile Punjab region. Among the mango groves and orchards lies The House of Bilquis Bibi. Inside, a family mourns. With her husband gone, Bilquis must uphold her family's honour at all costs - the fates of five unmarried daughters lie in her hands. Her solution: to marry off eldest daughter Abida to their cousin Pappo, who is visiting Pakistan from the US. Bilquis turns a blind eye to the illicit nightly visits Pappo pays to his fiancée's balcony. But as she slowly realises that more than one daughter is staying awake for him, the temperature in the house rises and a tragedy unfolds. A modern-day interpretation of Lorca's 1936 masterpiece The House of Bernarda Alba. With an all-female cast of nine, it tells a personal yet subtly political story of small lives affected by global ties. Running time 2hrs 20mins (inclu. interval)

Cast/Performers

Ghizala Avan (Abida), Ila Arun (Bilquis Bibi), Rina Fatania (Bushra), Mariam Haque (Sumayyah), Indira Joshi (Mehroonisa), Youkti Patel (Aroosa), Shalini Peiris (Amana), Vineeta Rishi (Fida), Balvinder Sopal (Servant / Zainab)

Creatives/Company

Author: Sudha Bhuchar
Producer(s): Tamasha Theatre Company, Harrogate Theatre
Director: Kristine Landon-Smith
Design: Sue Mayes
Lighting: Natasha Chivers
Sound: Mike Furness