South Bank Show

Eight Tibetan monks from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery embark on a nationwide UK tour this autumn, including a concert at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall at the South Bank Centre on Sunday 1st November, performing meditative chants, music and dance for what promises to be a fascinating insight into the authentic Buddhist traditions of Tibet.

Wearing traditional brocade costumes and masks the monks invoke the Buddhist divinities in the skeleton dance of Dur Dak, (the Lords of the Cemetery) and the Stag and the Buffalo - disciples of the Lord of Death. In a varied programme, instruments of the monastic orchestra, including the great Dungchen, or Long Horns, the Khangling (trumpets made from human thighbones) and percussion provide a dramatic accompaniment to the dance and Buddhist chants.

"A magical universe of reincarnation and release" The Independent

"Mesmerising" ****Songlines magazine

“A psychedelic whirl of chanting, dancing, drums, cymbals and processions”
The Times

1 Nov Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, London
Box Office: 0844 847 9910

2009 Tour dates

3 Nov Sheffield University
Tel: 0114 222 0499

6 Nov Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury
Box Office: 01684 295074

8 Nov Landmark Centre, Deal
Tel: 01304 389165

22 Nov St George’s, Bristol
Box Office: 0845 402 4001

28 Nov Forest Arts, New Milton
Box Office: 01425 619983

30 Nov Norwich Playhouse
Box Office: 01603 598598

5 Dec Assembly Rooms, Ludlow
Box Office: 01584 878141

7th Dec Asian Music Centre, London (Workshop)

Tel: 020 8749 9584

9 Dec Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Box Office: 01970 623232

2009 is a significant year for those interested in the Tibetan world: it was fifty years ago that HH the Dalai Lama escaped into exile in India, followed by thousands of Tibetan refugees, who still, against all the odds, preserve their unique culture, which is now being shared with us in the west. This year is also of particular importance to the monks of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. Their spiritual leader, the Panchen Lama Gedun Choekyi Nyima, is 21 years old in 2009, although still inside Tibet detained by the Chinese authorities – perhaps one of the youngest political prisoners in the world.