Zillur Rahman John

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 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 – Canada; Fringe International Theatre Festival 2008 – Canada; One Act Play Festival 2008 – Canada; Asian Monodrama Festival 2006 – Seoul and Kongju in 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, Korea; Jeju (Cheju) Island Mime Festival 1998 – Jeju Island, Korea; National Theatre Festival 1997 – Manila, Philippines; Asian Monodrama Festival 1997 – Seoul and Kongju in 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.
Direction

He directed solo, duet, trio, group and mimodrama productions in Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, Scandinavia. John conducted innumerable international workshops and classes 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.

MUKAVINOYER ITIKATHA (History of Mime and Pantomime) By Zillur Rahman John. Published by Text Book Division, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh. First Edition – February 1995. ISBN 984-07-3156-4

MUKAVINAY DARPAN (Mirror of Mime and Pantomime) By Zillur Rahman John. Published by Text Book Division, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh. First Edition – May 1998. ISBN 984-07-3741-4

SHILPACHETANA O MUKABHINAYA (Artistry of Mime and Pantomime) By Zillur Rahman John. Published by Text Book Division, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh. First Edition – June 2007. ISBN 984-07-4579-4

MUKABHINAYA SHILPEE-O-SHILPACHINTA (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
Notable performance

Zillur Rahman John performed the character “Mandarin” in the production of “The Miraculous Mandarin”.

Mime and Pantomime Artist Zillur Rahman John performed the title character of MANDARIN in the production of MIRACULOUS MANDARIN at the Winspear Centre, with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra(ESO), for the first time Miraculous Mandarin in Canada. First performance held in Cologne,Germany. Music Director and Conductor: William Eddins(Bill Eddins), USA. Pantomime Grotesque written by Hungarian Journalist Aka Melchior Lengyel. Published in 1916, Composed by the Great Music Composer Bela Bartok(1918 – 1928). Presented by: Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO), Canada. Produced by: Winspear Centre, Canada. Directed by: John Ullyatt, Canada.
Awards

In 1993, his Dhaka Pantomime troup won the Best Performance Award in group mime from Kolkata, India at the International Festivals of Non-Verbal Arts organized by the India committee of the International Organization of Performing Arts (IOPA).[1] In 2009 John was honoured by the City of Edmonton, Canada, with the City of Edmonton Cultural Diversity in the Arts Award.[2]
Charitable activities

John was the director of the Centre for Ethnic Children, a child protection NGO in Bangladesh.[3]

“IPEC-funded theatre programme against child trafficking in Bangladesh.”. International Labour Organization. Retrieved 5 March 2010.