Leesa Gazi | |
---|---|
লিসা গাজী | |
Born | East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) | 14 August 1969
Nationality | British |
Occupation(s) | Writer, playwright, theatre director, actress, television presenter |
Years active | 2008–present |
Title | Co-founder of Komola Collective |
Children | 2 |
Leesa Gazi (Bengali: লিসা গাজী; born 14 August 1969)[1] is a Bangladeshi-born British writer, playwright, theatre director and actress based in London.
Background
Gazi's father fought during the Bangladesh Liberation War.[1]
Career
Gazi is the co-founder of theatre and arts company, Komola Collective.[2] She was the script-writer and performer of Six Seasons and Tahmima Anam's A Golden Age at the Southbank Centre. Her theatrical credits include:[3] Birangona: Women of War,[4] Sonata, Rokey's Dream, Demon's Revenge, Ponderful People, and Bonbibi. She also wrote the script for Bonbibi: Lady of the Forest in 2012.[3] She performed in People's Romeo,[5] which had an eight-week nationwide tour with Tara Arts.[3] Sonata, adapted and performed by Gazi, was invited to Bangladesh in 2010 by the British Council.[6] She performed in a serialised adaptation of A Golden Age. She worked as the cultural coordinator and as a voice artist for Akram Khan's Desh.[3]
In 2012, she worked as a script interpreter Globe to Globe Festival at the Globe Theatre on The Tempest. She acted on a play about domestic violence called Whisper Me Happy Ever After. She works for Train4change as an actor as well, and worked on a project with them on a film for the charity WaterAid. Between May and August 2014, she worked as an actor in a series of BBC Educational Films.[3]
Gazi hosts Aei Jonopode, a weekly live-phone-in show on Bangla TV. In 2010, her first novel Rourob was published.[3]
Gazi was awarded the Grants for the Arts by the ACE for the Birangona: Women of War theatre project by Komola Collective. She is the concept developer, co-writer and the performer of this theatre production.[3][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
In May 2014, Gazi was interviewed by Nadia Ali on BBC Asian Network.[15]
Personal life
Gazi and her husband, have two children; one born 2004 (named Sreya), the other 2006 (named Orion).
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Life Goes On | ||
2019 | Rising Silence | Director | Gazi's directorial debut. |
Stage
Year | Title | Credit | Theatre |
---|---|---|---|
2008–2010 | Sonata | Tara Arts | |
2010 | Rokeya's Dream | ||
Ponderful People | Face Front | ||
2010 | Bonbibi | Culturepot Global | |
2012 | Bonbibi: Lady of the Forest | ||
2015 | Birangona: Women of War | Tara Arts | |
See also
References
- 1 2 Bhuchar, Suman (9 May 2014). "Actor Leesa Gazi on Birangona: Women of War, stories of female survivors". Theatre Voice. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ "Arts & Culture". British Bangladeshi Power & Inspiration. January 2015. Archived from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Leesa Gazi". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ Dey, Saurav (19 December 2014). "Komola Collective stages Birangona: Women of War". The Daily Star. Bangladesh. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ↑ Vale, Paul (13 September 2010). "People's Romeo". The Stage. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ↑ "A "Sonata" for Dhaka". The Daily Star. Bangladesh. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ↑ Dey, Saurav (28 August 2013). "Bringing Forth Unsung Tales of Birangonas". The Daily Star. Bangladesh. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ Nadiya, Shabnam (13 September 2013). "Birangona". Bdnews24.com. Bangladesh. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ Sinha, Kounteya (25 March 2014). "Play in UK tells of Bengali women raped by Pakistani army during 1971 war". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ Gazi, Leesa (31 March 2014). "Birangona: Will the World Listen?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ Anam, Tahmina (15 April 2014). "Bangladesh's Birangona women: 'Tell the world our story'". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ Dey, Saurav (30 April 2014). "Bringing Forth Unsung Tales of Birangonas". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ "Komola Collective stages a series of shows of Birangona". New Age. Bangladesh. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ Chatak, Hasan Mansoor (21 December 2014). "Komla Collective pays tribute to Birangonas". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ "Leesa Gazi talks to the writer behind the latest Brit Bangla play – Birangona". BBC Asian Network. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.