LOVE’S JOURNEY
An Evening in the Company of Jalal al-Din Rumi

Venue:
St Mark’s - Myddelton Square, London EC1.

Dates:
2-6 September 2003 (7.30-10.00pm).

Produced and conceived by:
Muriel Maufroy.

Directed by:
Sue Best.

Organised by:
Christian Meditation Centre
in association with
The Iran Heritage Foundation.

Introduction:
A timeless story of love and transformation: the story of the great 13^th century Sufi poet, Jalal al-Din Rumi, is re-lived  during this performance through his poetry. Acted and narrated by Ashley Ramsden and Duncan Mackintosh. Accompanied by Ostad Hossein Omoumi. With inserts from Coleman Barks’ translations of Rumi.

Jal-al-Din Rumi:
Mowlana Jalal al-Din Balkhi, or Jalal al-Din Rumi as he is known in the West, is the greatest mystical poet of the Islamic ‘Sufi’ tradition. Born in 1207 in Balkh (now in Afghanistan), he died in 1273 in Konya (now in Turkey). His great reputation rests partly on the voluminous Masnavi-ye Ma‘navi ‘Spiritual Couplets’ of his mature years. It is the longest (26,000 couplets) and most consummate mystical poem in Persian, perhaps in any language. It teaches the way out of alienation, exile and slavery to the self and towards the goal of union with the source of all love and knowledge, in the divine. This performance is an opportunity to listen to the poetry and the music of the Masnavi and obtain a glimpse into the life of Rumi. The translations used in this performance are from Coleman Barks, who is perhaps the most prolific modern translator of Rumi. Thanks to his considerable work, Rumi’s poetry is now reaching a huge public in the West.

Performance credits:
- Sue Best is a free-lance director and actress. She works with the Royal Opera and the English Shakespeare Company as well as touring internationally for the British Council with her own company, Shakespeare Link.
- Duncan Mackintosh, an actor, storyteller and teacher, has had a long term interest in mystical traditions and for many years has been an exponent of Rumi’s work.
- Muriel Maufroy is a French writer and broadcaster. She worked for more than twenty years with the BBC World Service and is the author of Breathing Truth, a book of quotations of Rumi.
- Ostad Hossein Omoumi,  Iranian born, studied ney (reed-flute) and also avaz (voice) since childhood with grand Iranian Masters of classical Persian music. He performs in Europe and the United States, and teaches Persian music at the Centre for the Study of Oriental Music at the University of Paris-Sorbonne.
- Ashley Ramsden is the directing founder of the School of Storytelling at Emerson College in East Sussex.

Rumi Festival:
This event is part of a larger festival with events scheduled from 1 to 21 September 2003. For programme details see www.rumi.org.uk/festival.

Ticket prices:
15 Pounds, 10 Pounds concessions.