performances

During the early research period for Glorious, Rajni performed a short piece called Hope as part of SPIELART's Woodstock of Political Thinking event in Munich.

Dinner with America was the second in a trilogy of performances addressing the complexities of cultural identity in the 21st century. It toured 2008-2009.

give what you can, take what you need is a playful exploration of notions of community and conversation through gift exchange. 

Drawing on Rajni's research projects into gift-giving as intervention in public space, this interactive performance is designed to take place in busy communal areas.  Passers-by are greeted by a large dinner table, where various other members of the public may be seated at any time.  Newcomers are invited to take part by accepting a gift, entering into a relationship with the gathering for as long or as short a time as they choose.

give what you can, take what you need was originally commissioned by Futuresonic 2008 and the Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster, and toured in 2008-2009 alongside Dinner with America.This piece can still occasionally be booked. Please use the contact form.

A lecture presentation at Hebbel-am-Ufer (Berlin), in which speaking in both German and English was used as an illustration of the ideas of (mis-)translation and cultural identity within Rajni's work.

"I was curious. What stops me from talking to strangers? What draws me to trust one person, to invite one person into my family and not the other? How can we re-find a way to talk? What would you say to a stranger?"

Living the Dream is a 60x60 film commissioned by motiroti as part of their 360° series. The film uses a minute of footage in which Rajni, with a carelessly painted white face, stares directly into the camera (an event which lasted an hour in total).

The initial small gifts intervention series took place throughout 2006 and 2007, exploring the role of gift and conversation in public spaces. This research was funded by the Live Art Development Agency through their One to One Bursary scheme, and supported by the Nuffield Theatre in Lancaster, the Colchester Arts Centre and Alternate ROOTS. Continuations of this research included a commission from the Nuffield Theatre in Lancaster in association with Futuresonic, and a commission from The Chelsea Theatre in London. Scroll to the bottom of the page for PDFs related to this research. Watch a slightly random section from small gifts: glasgow here (you need to register and login to this site).

The New Barbarian Collection Fall 2007: bringing your dreams to life, one nightmare at a time was a Pocha Nostra performance made in collaboration with Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Violeta Luna and Roberto Sifuentes from La Pocha Nostra and a group of UK collaborators.