TOGETHER WE STAND (একসাথে চলি, একসাথে বাঁচি)

Directed by Nasir Uddin Yousuff

TOGETHER WE STAND (একসাথে চলি, একসাথে বাঁচি) in a newly created theatre production which showcases disabled talent and accessible practices for theatre practitioners and audiences in Bangladesh.

TOGETHER WE STAND (একসাথে চলি, একসাথে বাঁচি) tells the story of what can happen when attitudes and assumptions are challenged and cultural spaces are opened up to tell stories in new ways – even old tales can take new forms.

TOGETHER WE STAND is part of The Space Between us:  Theatre, Access, and Exchange, a collaboration bringing together disabled and non-disabled artists from Bangladesh and the UK.  Celebrating accessibility, disability equality, and creative exchange, the production demonstrates how theatre can create more accessible cultural spaces, build connections, and inspire a more inclusive, less exclusionary future.

This production is the creative culmination of The Space Between Us: Theatre, Access, and Exchange a project created by Sundaram in collaboration with BOP, funded by the Connections Through Culture (CtC) grant programme from the British Council.

ONLINE UK SHOWCASE MONDAY 29TH JUNE

11AM – 1PM (UK TIME) | 4PM – 6PM (BANGLADESH TIME)

PLEASE BOOK A FREE PLACE TO RECEIVE EVENT LINK

BOP and Sundaram would like to invite you to join us online to watch the recording of the production which was filmed at the Dr. Neelima Ibrahim Auditorium in Dhaka earlier in June.  This production is performed in Bangla and presented with English subtitles.  We will introduce the film and hold a post screening panel discussion and Q&A session.

EVENT STRUCTURE:

• Introduction to project (10 mins)
• Screening of film* (50 mins)
• Break
• Panel discussion and Q&A (40 mins)

PANEL:

Nasir Uddin Yousuff (Chairperson, Sundaram), 

Md. Sharif Hasan Chowdhury Soud ( Facilitator, Sundaram) 

Souradeep Dasgupta (Creative Collaborator, Sundaram) 

Michelle Rolfe (Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, Producer)

Mairi Taylor (Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, Executive Director)

PLEASE NOTE:

• * film will be shared in zoom and an external link will also be supplied to mitigate any technical issues
• The film contains English captions
• The event will utilise automated captions in Zoom
• If you have any access requirements please email all@boptheatre.co.uk and we will do our best to accommodate

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Birds of Paradise Theatre Company (BOP) had the pleasure of first meeting Sundaram and the creatives involved in this project in Dhaka in 2024 when we attended The International Disability Art Festival 2024 which was a significant cultural moment marking the culmination of the  British Council’s project DARE (Disability Arts: Redefining Empowerment), which had undertaken a vast array of development work across Bangladesh.

For this project, BOP has been working remotely with Sundaram on the project to support the development of TOGETHER WE STAND as it moved to its final presentation. In December 2025 BOP delivered a workshop to 24 participants who would potentially be involved in the final production. This workshop introduced both organisations and how we work and why we work in the way we do.  BOP’s contribution to this collaboration and knowledge exchange was to highlight our access practices – on and off stage.  From the way we make work to how creatively embedded access is core to BOP’s practice as a company and a second workshop in April 2025 focussed on examples of creative access being fully embedded into productions. 

We broke this down into two key areas: access for the team delivering the production, and access within the storytelling for the audiences attending. We discussed what accessibility requirements a team with a mix of disabled and non-disabled team members may have and how we can remove the barriers they may be facing to be involved. We ran an activity with the group, first asking them to think about their personal access requirements, and then about what they need in the rehearsal room to do their best work. This activity brought up some things the Sundaram team was already aware of, as well as some more personal points that will inform the rehearsal process.

About Sundaram

‘Sundaram’ is an initiative that aims to explore the challenges and opportunities in disability arts in Bangladesh, and spread arts with the disability community across the country.

Sundaram is the first of its kind in Bangladesh – a theatre platform for disabled artists. The main objectives of:

• Connecting the disabled people in Bangladesh through artistic activities – primarily through inclusive, accessible theatre.

• Working in eight divisional cities of Bangladesh to work with the disabled people to help them connect to the society and showcase skills.

• Eradicate the barriers created by the society that disable people  and make a more inclusive society through theatrical activities.

• Spread awareness and remove the stigmas related to attitudes towards disabled people through artistic activities.