The Troth – Usne Kaha Tha

2017

A gripping wartime story of love and loss, told through powerful dance theatre.

“The memory becomes luminous just before death…”

Moving from rural Punjab to the Belgian trenches where young Indian men have been brought to fight for the Allies, we learn about the secret promise made by one soldier, Lehna Singh, as he makes the ultimate sacrifice to save another.

Akademi’s international dance theatre production is inspired by the classic Hindi short story Usne Kaha Tha. Marking the centenary of World War I, award-winning choreographer Gary Clarke unfolds the poignant narrative through contemporary dance, music and film. With music by Shri Sriram.

Programme PDF [2.5mb]

Learning Resource Pack PDF [3.6mb]

“An act of remembrance, an emotionally charged piece of movement… it unfolds with poignant clarity”
Fergus Morgan, Theatre Critic, The Stage

“A path-breaking vision of an Indian reality interpreted in contemporary choreography”
Sharon Lowen, Reviewer, The Asian Age

Credits

Creative Team

Role	Credit
Direction and Choreography	Gary Clarke
Assistant Director	Daniel Hay-Gordon
Dramaturg	Lou Cope
Composer	Shri Sriram
Film	Josh Hawkins
Lighting	Charles Webber
Original Producer	Penny Andrews
Creative Consultants	Prof. Ashok Sagar Bhagat, Amarjit Chandan, Dr Santanu Das, Prof. Tripurari Sharma, Jasdeep Singh

Performance Credits

Credit
Cast	Dom Coffey, Mithun Gill, Alistair Goldsmith, Subhash Viman Gorania, Vidya Patel, Deepraj Singh.
Previous cast	Daniel Hay-Gordon and Songhay Toldon

PR and Media Credits

Role	Credit
Images	Simon Richardson
Trailer	Josh Hawkins
Location courtesy	Tara Arts

Supported by

India and Spring Tour Supporters and Partners

Ministry of Culture, Government of India; Armed Forces Covenant; Cockayne and The London Community Foundation; Open Fund, PRS Foundation; Indian Council for Cultural Relations; The Nehru Centre; Watermans; The Space; Jawahar Kala Kendra; Teamwork Arts; National Army Museum; Air India; Golden Tours Foundation; and Eastern Eye.

Additional support: New Dimension Arts, Nupur Arts, Sampad Arts, Katha UK, Hindi Samiti UK, Vatayan

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

British Army, Army @ the Fringe, Summerhall.

Autumn Tour

Presented in association with the British Army. Birmingham performance supported by Sampad Arts and the University of Birmingham India Institute.

The Troth – Usne Kaha Tha

2017