EYES OF THE TAIGA

Biography:
Zillur Rahman John is a Bangladeshi Canadian mime and pantomime artiste, Director, Teacher, Researcher and Author of mime books.
Festivals:
Zillur Rahman John participated many international theatre and mime festivals in different countries since 1989.
John had been invited and performed some of the festivals such as:
Play the Fool International Film Festival 2022 – Edmonton, Canada.
Dolmoru Travelling Artist Festival 2021 – South Korea.
Play the Fool Theatre Festival 2021 – Edmonton, Canada.
International Theatre Festival 2010 - Ufa, Russia.
Cultural Meet 2010 - Moscow, Russia.
Asian Mime Night 2010 - Bangkok, Thailand.
International Day of Anti - Racism 2009 - City of Edmonton, Canada.
Fringe International Theatre Festival 2009 – Edmonton, Canada.
Fringe International Theatre Festival 2008 – Edmonton, Canada.
One Act Play Festival 2008 - Canada.
Asian Monodrama Festival 2006 - Seoul and Kongju in South Korea.
Cultural Festival 2002 - Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne in Australia.
Bali Cultural Festival 2002 - Bali Island, Indonesia.
International Children Theatre Festival 1999 - Mumbai, India.
Asian Monodrama Festival 1998 - Seoul and Kongju in Korea.
Commonwealth Games Cultural Festival 1998 - Kualalumpur, Malaysia.
Cultural Festival 1998 - Singapore.
Asian Mime Night 1998 - Inchoen, South Korea.
Jeju (Cheju) Island Mime Festival 1998 - Jeju Island, South Korea.
National Theatre Festival 1997 - Manila, Philippines.
Asian Monodrama Festival 1997 - Seoul and Kongju in South Korea.
Asian Monodrama Festival 1997 - Kualalumpur, Malaysia.
Summer Festival of Theatre 1996 - Helsinki, Finland.
National Theatre Festival and Workshops 1996 - Joensuu, Finland.
Asian Mime Festival 1996 - Tokyo, Japan.
Asian Mime Festival 1996 - Kawagachiko, Japan.
Asian Mime Festival 1996 - Nagano, Japan.
Asian Mime Festival 1996 - Mount Fuji, Japan.
Cultural Festival 1996 - Hong Kong.
International Amateur Theatre Festival 1996 - Toyoma, Japan.
International Children Theatre Festival 1996 - Toyoma, Japan.
International Non-Verbal Arts Festival 1993 - Kolkata, India.
India Theatre Olympiad 1993 - Delhi, India.
World Health Food Program Cultural Night 2004 - Dhaka, Bangladesh.
First Mime and Pantomime Festival 1991 - Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Notable performance:
Zillur Rahman John performed the character "Mandarin" in the production of "The Miraculous Mandarin" at the Winspear Centre, with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO), for the first time Miraculous Mandarin in Canada in 2015. Pantomime Grotesque written by Hungarian Journalist Aka Melchior Lengyel, published in 1916, Composed by the Great Music Composer Bela Bartok (1918 - 1928).
Direction:
He directed solo, duet, trio, group and mimodrama productions in Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, Scandinavia.
Mime Workshops and Classes:
John conducted innumerable international workshops and classes in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Finland, Thailand, Philippines, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Russia and Bangladesh since 1989.
Author:
Author of several Mime and Pantomime books. Contributed more than 200 articles on Arts and Culture published in the Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Banglapedia), published by the Asiatic Societies of Bangladesh.
History of Mime and Pantomime. By Zillur Rahman John. Published by Textbook Division, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
First Edition - February 1995. ISBN 984-07-3156-4
Mirror of Mime and Pantomime. By Zillur Rahman John. Published by Textbook Division, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
First Edition - May 1998. ISBN 984-07-3741-4
Artistry of Mime and Pantomime. By Zillur Rahman John. Published by Textbook Division, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
First Edition - June 2007. ISBN 984-07-4579-4
Mime and Pantomime Artist and artistic thoughts. By Zillur Rahman John. Published by National Academy of Fine and Performing Arts. Dhaka, Bangladesh.
First Edition - June 2010. ISBN 984-555-052-5
Awards:
In 2009 John was honoured by the City of Edmonton, Canada, with the City of Edmonton Cultural Diversity in the Arts Award.
In 1993, his mime group “Dhaka Pantomime” won the Best Performance Award in group mime performance at Kolkata, India, at the International Festivals of Non-Verbal Arts organized by the India committee of the International Organization of Performing Arts (IOPA).
Zillur Rahman John also received the awards from different countries such as –
Cultural festival award 2002 (Australia) – Mime Personality.
Asian Monodrama Festival Award 1997 (Korea) – Mime Personality.
International Amateur Theatre Festival Award 1996 (Japan) – Mime Personality.
Momento of Shammohan Chokroborty 1997 (India) – Mime Personality.

Tours:
Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, China, Denmark, Dubai, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nepal, Norway, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, Taiwan, UAE, USA.