PERFORMANCE | A Mesopotamian Evening

The evening comprises three performances - one in Arabic, one in English and one in Arabic and English. The first performance by Badia Obaid is 'The First Ever Female Poet' - the story of Enheduanna, priestess of the Moon God and the daughter of King Sargon of Akkad. In around 2300 BCE, Enheduanna wrote hymns in the ancient Sumerian language which document her devotion to the goddess Ishtar at a time of civil war and general unrest. These fascinating documents open a window, both onto the cultural life of the times and onto the life of an individual who is the first named poet in world history.
The second performance by June Peters is 'Inana and Ebih'. It is one of the 42 poems written by Enheduanna.
The last performance is the 'Dialogue of Pessimism' - a literary dialogue between an indecisive master and his not-so-helpful servant. The genre is black comedy. The master proposes a series of ventures with which the servant agrees - but then the master changes his mind and the servant purports to support him. The end has a wonderful sting in the tail which always goes down well with audiences.
The first performance (Enheduanna) is a world premiere. The last has been performed at the Iraqi Business Council in Amman for an audience including a member of the Jordanian Royal Family.
The evening will last about an hour and be accompanied by the beautiful harp music of Tara Jaff.

PERFORMERS

Badia Obaid - Storyteller
Badia Obaid is an Arabic-speaking Zipang Mesopotamian Storyteller with a repertoire of stories from ancient Iraq; born in Baghdad, has a long career in the Arabic world and in the UK as an actress, voice-over artist, writer, reporter, presenter, and producer with work in theatre, film, television, and radio.

June Peters - Storyteller
June Peters is an English speaking Zipang Mesopotamian Storyteller who has worked as a performer and facilitator for thirty years in schools, museums and theatres in the UK, across South America and in Jordan. She has published four books of folk tales and has recently co-written 'Tales of Ancient Sumer and Mesopotamia' for Flame Tree Publishing. It will be published in February 2026.

Tara Jaff - Harpist
Tara Jaff is a self-taught musician originally from Kurdistan of Iraq, and has been living in the UK since 1976. Over the years, she experimented with different string instruments, but it was her fascination with the ancient harps of Mesopotamia that led her to the contemporary Celtic harp. Embracing this instrument, she introduced it to Kurdish music, developing her own unique style of playing. She has given many performances mainly as a solo artist and occasionally with other musicians in different parts of the world. She has also collaborated with poets, storytellers, painters, dancers and theatre groups in various projects and performances. Her music has also featured in several films and documentaries.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: In return for being able to fund our vibrant exhibitions and events, we must charge a fair £5 ticket price to help offset some of the gallery running and overhead expenses. With a large percentage of our public and private sponsorship eliminated, your gift enables us to continue presenting idea-stimulating art and culture events. Thank you immensely for helping independent not-for-profit art spaces like ours.