KARTHIKA NAÏR
Dramaturg TIAN QINXIN
Theatrical Consultant GONG LINNA
Lead Singer
French-Indian poet and dance
producer Karthika Naïr is the
author of four books, including
the award-winning Until the
Lions (HarperCollins India, 2015/
Arc Publications UK, 2016)—a
re-imagining of the Mahabharata
in multiple voices, and The Honey
Hunter (Editions Hélium-Actes
Sud/Zubaan Books, 2013), a
children’s story illustrated by
Joëlle Jolivet and published
in English, French, German
and Bangla. Karthika was also
the principal scriptwriter of
choreographer Akram Khan’s
2011 dance solo DESH (2012
Melbourne Festival) and its young
adult adaptation Chotto Desh
(2015). Tian Qinxin is a Director at China
National Theatre, deputy director
of Center for Theatre and Cinema
Studies at Beijing University
and the Chief Artistic Director
of Qing Xin Culture Center. Tian
has directed a number of theatre
works and won awards including
the China Art Festival Gold Award,
National Theatre Best Creations
Award, Golden Lions Award, Best
Director, Best Script Writer and
Cao Yu Literary Script Writing
Award. Tian is named The Best
Artist in the China One Hundred
Years Famous Theatre Artists. Gong Linna is one of the most
venturing Chinese singers the
world has seen in recent years.
Gong’s unique vocal style though
steeped in Chinese tradition,
defies neat categorization and
enjoys huge popularity in China
and abroad. Gong’s works that
combine chamber music and
pop, presented in sophisticated
settings, inspire the music scene
in China. Besides a career as a
singer, Gong is motivated to pass
along China’s musical heritage
to the next generations through
dedication to research and
developing teaching concepts and
materials for Chinese traditional
vocal techniques.
In Karthika’s résumé as an
enabler, one finds mention
of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui,
Damien Jalet, Käfig/Mourad
Merzouki, two Olivier awards,
Auditorium Musica per Roma,
the Louvre, the Shaolin Temple,
misadventures with ninja swords
and pachyderms, among others:
many of which make their way
willy-nilly into Karthik’s poetry.