Looking for Kool

A theatre show that is receiving a lot of interest is “Looking for Kool” by Rani Moorthy, a Malaysian-born playwright, actress, and artistic director of Rasa Productions. Currently running at the Southbank centre as part of the Alchemy Festival from Thursday 12th April to Sunday 22nd April.

Looking for Kool is a journey of one woman’s life and the heavy price of war through the secret labyrinth of one of Southbank Centre’s underground spaces. Having witnessed her world turned upside down, Mrs U has retreated to her underground bunker, The Coconut Grove. She has survived war on her wits and on kool, the stew that gave comfort during famine, crisis and bound her community for generations. Kool now connects her to the past and to her family scattered around the world.

Confronting her death, she hijacks some war tourists, taking them on a journey. She recounts the beauty of her bittersweet life, her guilt and loss. In return they must fulfil an agonising request. Looking for Kool will be running at the Southbank centre from Thursday 12th April to Sunday 22nd April. Tickets are only £10. Too book yours, please visit http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/dance-performance/tickets/rasa-looking-for-kool-64063

In Looking For Kool the song Mr Soldierman is the work of Mrs U’s granddaughter, M C Ooma. Living in Canada, far from the civil war in Sri Lanka, she nevertheless holds strong views on the conflict in her motherland. Mr Soldierman by Rani Moorthy with British Tamil rapper SujeethG.

Who is Rani Moorthy?
Rani Moorthy is a Malaysian-born playwright, actress, and artistic director of Rasa Productions.  Born to Sri Lankan parents in 1961, her family escaped the Kuala Lumpar race riots of 1969 to a border town, where she attended school across the border in Singapore. Her family tried to emigrate to Singapore, but were unsuccessful for a time. When they eventually made it, Moorthy began her acting career, appearing in theatre and hosting The Ra Ra Show, a television comedy. In 1996, she emigrated to the United Kingdom where she continues her work in the arts.

Rani Moorthy’s hit show Curry Tales is the most widely toured piece of South Asian theatre in the UK, seen in 80 venues, broadcast on Radio 4 and touring internationally. Other work includes Shades of Brown, Too Close to Home and Handful of Henna. Rani will soon be seen in the feature film ‘All in Good Time’ written by Ayub Khan Din (East is East) and directed by Nigel Cole (Calendar Girls).

Rasa is based in Manchester and aims to artistically celebrate the enduring migrant experience.

‘Rarely have I seen such talent or intimate contact with the pulse of this nation’  The Independent on Curry Tales.

‘â??â??â??â?? An incomparable story teller…’ The Guardian on Shades of Brown

What is the Alchemy Festival?
Alchemy is Southbank Centre’s annual festival of music, performance, literature, debate, fashion and design running from Thursday 12th to Sunday 22 April 2012.  The festival explores the rich cultural connections between Bangladesh, India, Pakistan Sri Lanka and the UK.  There will be a number of free and ticketed events, featuring artistes including the Asian Dub Foundation, popular Indian singer Shankar Mahadevan, British Asian R&B soloist Arjun, South Indian folk artiste Raghu Dixit and many more.

Rani Moorthy’s recent interview with the newstatesman.com talks discusses cultural dislocation, civil war, genocide and her new one woman show http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2012/04/we-had-witness-first-cultural-genocide-and-then-all-out-genocide