Voice of the Heart

Artlinks News - Johannesburg, South Africa
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Come, come, whoever you are, ours is not a caravan of despair…’

This year is the 800th Anniversary of the birth of 13 Century Persian poet and mystic Jelaludin Rumi, and popular English actor and storyteller Duncan Mackintosh returns to South Africa to bring Rumi’s universal message alive through a series of performances and workshops.

Mackintosh has performed Rumi and run workshops for many years in numerous countries. His performances leave audiences in no doubt as to why Rumi’s inspired words are so widely read in the West.

“There is perhaps no one person in history who expressed the essential unity of mankind more eloquently and passionately than Rumi”, says Mackintosh.

“His name means literally ‘Majesty of Religion,’ and he is believed to have said that his work would return to the world when it was most needed. The works of Rumi reach across faiths and no faiths, beyond creed and religion. He is also the most popular poet in the USA.”

Based in England, South African born Mackintosh has returned to this country on several occasions, and has built up a large following of fans who share his enthusiasm and passion for spiritual awakening and transformation.

“Through the way Duncan speaks Rumi's poems my own longing for Oneness and Truth rose up inside me”, wrote Interfaith Minister, Rev Annie Blompied. “Not only that, we laughed a lot too!”

"Duncan works out of a deep love and sense for the Truth - unsensational, yet truly profound”, adds Phillipa Blakestone, who attended a workshop in Scotland.

South African teacher Estelle Bryer claims that her experiences at one of Mackintosh’s workshops will never leave her. "I cannot thank him enough. He is a fine midwife.”

Mackintosh will be in South Africa for a limited number of performances of Voice of the Heart and accompanying workshops, and early booking is essential to avoid missing this opportunity.

He did perform Voice of the Heart with Ashley Ramsden at the Sufi Temple, Claremont in Cape Town on the 15 and 16 October; this will be followed by a workshop on 17 November.

Next up will be a short solo season at the Kwasuka Theatre in Durban from 19-26 November. The Durban workshop will take place on Saturday 24 November.

Ashley Ramsden presents the works of Rumi in Johannesburg at the Goethe Institute in Parkwood on 25 November.

For more information contact Clinton Marius on 082 573 3704 or at copypuppy@artslink.co.za