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Do I know U? project links young actors from Mannheim, Germany and Ranga Shankara theatre in Bangalore, India.

The German Federal Cultural Foundation’s (Kulturstiftung des Bundes) Wanderlust – Fund for International Theatre Partnerships has financed projects by municipal and state theatres in Germany which want to establish a partnership with a foreign theatre.

Under this programme, ‘Do I Know U?’, a joint programme by the Nationaltheater Mannheim / Schnawwl and the Ranga Shankara Theatre in Bangalore (India) will  co-produce  "Boy with a Suitcase", a modern adaptation of Sinbad by the renowned British author Mike Kenny. The German-Indian ensemble and directing team will depict the exciting journey of the boy Naz across continents and oceans on his way to Europe.

The young actors' group "Schnawwl" at the Nationaltheater Mannheim and the Ranga Shankara Theatre in Bangalore have collaborated to show how this play can create a common bond between two vastly different worlds. Mannheim and Bangalore are both industrial cities that have been strongly shaped by immigration. The challenges this poses to peaceable coexistence and the cultural conflicts this may cause are the focus of their adaptation of "Intrigue and Love" and played a role in other phases of their partnership. Guest performances and joint workshops have enabled each ensemble to become acquainted with the other's working methods and techniques.

In May 2010, actors from Bangalore visited Mannheim.  Read about the workshop on the Wanderlust blog ‘ Getting to know each other – Indian colleagues in Mannheim’.

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Photo credit: flickr.com/photos/zeligdoc/4119683312/