Playwright & Director: Subhadip Raha

Group: Krishiv Creations, Pune

Language: Hindi & English

Duration: 1 hr 15 mins

The Play

Delhi based lecturer Rajashree and her sister arrive at a country side place to stay in a government guest house. This place is a guerrilla warzone. Rajashree is a self – styled political idealist sympathiser of the guerrillas. An alibi for her presence is that of a researcher pursuing a PhD related to the place. Her sister Sudha is a college girl without an ideology, but flamboyant and rebellious. She is told not to step out of the guest-house. The bored collegiate draws her sister into a discussion around political ideology, questions her leanings, compelling Rajshree to reveal her true purpose. She is an undercover scribe on a mission to uncover the police’s human rights violation for holding a guerrilla leader captive. She seeks permission to meet the leader in lieu of finding out his name. She enters the cell surprised on seeing the guerrilla who (it seems) is no one else, but – Che Guevara! He / his look alike engage and disrobe her ‘pseudo’ socio-political ideology, in conversation. Doubtful, she leaves the cell casually naming the captive leader as, Che Guevara to the police, returning to the guesthouse.  Sub- inspector Sant gleefully reveals the captive’s identity, to be Che and gets beaten for no one believes him. Sudha too is shocked by the sting video. Rajashree reaches the police station to meet the leader and clear her doubts. Sant allows her a last chance while threatening her with death. She confronts Che, but ends up distressed at her inability to justify her belief and his identity. Meanwhile the inspector hears an animal’s howl coming from the captive’s cell. Reaching there he spots a wolf donning Rajshree’s earings and necklace. The sight is full of blood spilling from the wolf’s mouth onto the floor. Che Guevara is witnessing the sight, (defiantly).

Director’s Note

At mid-night when the moon rises on top of the sky I always try and find my twin but am attacked always. Memories of childhood have been giving productive-ambiguity to my socio political stand. As it’s like I am in the children’s park digging the soil at my feet and concentrating my whole effort to witness a color – which, punches my head, touches me, penetrates my sweat, grills my eyes, blasts my ears repeatedly. I and they fly probably, from the dug up hole – the three musketeers meet move their heads looking at me I pick my pen up. Something has given birth out of our own critical political ideologies; we then approach the cloudy rehearsals, like boxers punch at their adversaries inside a ring spilling blood in the center. We smell it and approach the unbearable crisis daily. We all put glasses to see the approaching shadow of, supersonic Ernesto Che Guevara – we kiss, hit, dig, burn and hug him finally. Each day becomes its last, the last chance, we explore, deal with this edgy, long lasting poisonous fact. I look around me eternally! Which direction? There’s one… Hash Ernesto Tag Guevara takes birth!

The Director and Playwright

Subhadip Raha began professional theatre in the 1980’s in Siliguri, West Bengal. He is the fourth generation in a family of theatre practitioners. He was trained in theatre at HCRFTA Mandi, Himachal Pradesh and subsequently at National School of Drama 2007. Started teaching at Anupam Kher’s school, Actor Prepares, Mumbai and Center for Research in Film and Television, Delhi. He is on the panel of visiting faculty of Bhartendu Natya Academy, Lucknow. Now, he is creative Director at Indira school of Communication and Acting Academy, Pune. He has directed about 40 plays and acted in hundreds, has also written 5 plays.

The Group

Krishiv Creations was formed on 28th August 2014. The main purpose of the group is to promote and encourage experimental, alternative theater. Its previous productions are Antaryatra (Marathi, Wri. Dr. Sameer Mone), Udakshanti (Sanskrit, Wri. Vinaya Kshirsagar), Titiksha (Marathi, Wri. Dr. Sameer Mone), Anthaarambha (Sanskrit, Wri. Yatin Mazire), Naa Jaane Kyun (Hindi, Wri. Pramod Kale), Thumba se Tapal (Marathi, Wri. Yatin Mazire) all directed by Yatin Mazire. Hash Ernesto Tag Guevera is written and directed by Subhadip Raha. Just Assassins is group’s latest production written by Albert Camus and Directed by Girish Pardeshi.

Cast & Credits

Che Guevara:  Girish Pardeshi 

Rajshree: Gita Guha

Inspector: Amit Kumar

Sudha: Pramitee Narake

Stage Manager: Aditya More

Property: Nishchay Atal, Sudhakar Ingole 

Light Design: Sagnik Chakravarty 

Backstage: Prasoonratam

Music Execution: Amay Surve

Stage Management: Hardik Kaushal

Playwright & Director: Subhadip Raha

Krishiv Creations was formed on 28th August 2014. The main purpose of the group is to promote and encourage experimental, alternative theater. Its previous productions are Antaryatra (Marathi, Wri. Dr. Sameer Mone), Udakshanti (Sanskrit, Wri. Vinaya Kshirsagar), Titiksha (Marathi, Wri. Dr. Sameer Mone), Anthaarambha (Sanskrit, Wri. Yatin Mazire), Naa Jaane Kyun (Hindi, Wri. Pramod Kale), Thumba se Tapal (Marathi, Wri. Yatin Mazire) all directed by Yatin Mazire. Hash Ernesto Tag Guevera is written and directed by Subhadip Raha. Just Assassins is group’s latest production written by Albert Camus and Directed by Girish Pardeshi.

Playwright: Mahesh Dattani 

Director: Lillette Dubey

Group: The Primetime Theatre Co., Mumbai

Language: English & Hindustani

Duration: 2 hrs

The Play & Director’s Note

This is a fascinating story of one of the classical superstars of her time and a fiery, feisty, independent minded woman of her generation, who was the first to sing on a wax record, and whose personal life was as mesmerising as her professional one. The play also offers an exciting glimpse of that period… Allahabad, Benares, Lucknow and Kolkata at the turn of the 20th century, both from the historical, political and cultural point of view! The play will have some live singing, though it is essentially a drama. It’s an important, powerful and moving story of a person who was a pioneer of the Thumri Tradition in Indian Classical Music and the play is a revelation for the younger generation, who know little about those times or about this great musician. Her story has all the ingredients for a very exciting and dramatic script, which will appeal not just to music lovers, but to lay audiences as well.

The Director

Lillette Dubey is a renowned Indian film and theatre actor and a theatre director. She has been Artistic Director of her own Theatre Company. The Primetime Theatre Company, for over 28 years and her theatrical work, which has travelled the globe, has been much acclaimed nationally and internationally, both in the sphere of actor and Director. Over a span of nearly 40 years, she has played the lead in over 60 theatre productions ranging from Shakespeare, Greek Tragedy, Brecht, Musical Comedies, Farce, Contemporary Drama, Absurd Theatre, to Contemporary Drama, including Ibsen, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Pinter, Dario Fo, Edward Albee and a gamut of famous Indian playwrights, from Vijay Tendulkar, Partap Sharma, Mahesh Dattani, Girish Karnad, Mahesh Elkunchwar to name just a few.

Most of the plays she has produced and directed, platform outstanding Indian playwrights, and many have won Best Play of the Year awards, and many have received Best Director and Actor awards at National Festivals. Ms. Dubey herself has won several Best Actress awards for her plays and films, including for Adhe Adhure (META 2013), Pankh (Jagran Film Festival 2010), Driving Miss Palmen (Dutch TV 2007), Bow Barracks Forever (Madrid international Film Festival) and others.

Several of the Company’s productions, directed by Ms. Dubey, have traveled widely across India and abroad, with a few having played for long runs at the Bloomsbury Theatre & Watermans in London, at the Tribecca in New York, at the Portland International Performance Festival in the U.S, as well as in Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Washington DC, Stamford, Raleigh (North Carolina), Los Angeles, Boston and New York. 

The Playwright

Mahesh Dattani is a playwright, stage director, and filmmaker. In 1998 he won the Sahitya Akademi award for his published plays. His plays are taught in several universities across the country and internationally as well. The International Herald Tribune hailed him as “one of India’s best and most serious contemporary playwrights”. He lives in Mumbai.

The Group

The Primetime Theatre Company was set up in March 1991 with the twin objectives of providing a platform for original Indian writing in English and travelling with its work across India and abroad to showcase indigenous work in different cultures and milieus, and also explore performances in different spaces and venues. The company has tried to showcase its work to the largest possible audience at prestigious International and National Festivals to Educational Institutions of all kinds, from Supper Theatre to some of the best performance venues in the world, from large open air auditoria to pocket sized black box theatres from factories to gardens. 

Cast & Credits

On Stage: Rajeshwari Sachdev, Zila Khan, Denzil Smith, Danny Sura, Rajeev Siddhartha, Gillian Pinto & Parinaz Jal

Set & Light Designer: Salim Akhtar

Costume Designer:  Pia Benegal

Kathak: Uma Dogra

Playwright: Mahesh Dattani

Producer & Director: Lillette Dubey

Lillette Dubey is a renowned Indian film and theatre actor and a theatre director. She has been Artistic Director of her own Theatre Company. The Primetime Theatre Company, for over 28 years and her theatrical work, which has travelled the globe, has been much acclaimed nationally and internationally, both in the sphere of actor and Director. Over a span of nearly 40 years, she has played the lead in over 60 theatre productions ranging from Shakespeare, Greek Tragedy, Brecht, Musical Comedies, Farce, Contemporary Drama, Absurd Theatre, to Contemporary Drama, including Ibsen, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Pinter, Dario Fo, Edward Albee and a gamut of famous Indian playwrights, from Vijay Tendulkar, Partap Sharma, Mahesh Dattani, Girish Karnad, Mahesh Elkunchwar to name just a few.

Most of the plays she has produced and directed, platform outstanding Indian playwrights, and many have won Best Play of the Year awards, and many have received Best Director and Actor awards at National Festivals. Ms. Dubey herself has won several Best Actress awards for her plays and films, including for Adhe Adhure (META 2013), Pankh (Jagran Film Festival 2010), Driving Miss Palmen (Dutch TV 2007), Bow Barracks Forever (Madrid international Film Festival) and others.

Several of the Company’s productions, directed by Ms. Dubey, have traveled widely across India and abroad, with a few having played for long runs at the Bloomsbury Theatre & Watermans in London, at the Tribecca in New York, at the Portland International Performance Festival in the U.S, as well as in Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Washington DC, Stamford, Raleigh (North Carolina), Los Angeles, Boston and New York. 

Playwright: Tennessee Williams
Director: Govind Singh Yadav
Group: The Dramatic Art& Design Association, Delhi
Language: Hindi
Duration: 1 hr 30 mins

The Play
Aijazis an aspiring poet who works in a factory to support his mother Nafeesa and sister Lubnawho has a problem with one of her legs. Aijaz’s father had run away many years ago.NafeesaasksAijazto find a match forLubna. Aijaz brings home Amjadwho had studied with Lubnain school. Amjad reveals that he is already engaged to another girl, and leaves. Aijazsays he wants to join the merchant navy.Nafeesa is disillusioned by now. Lubna has been preserving glass dolls since her childhood. At some point her favourite glass doll is disfigured by Amjad. Aijaz leaves home after this incident and arrives back in town after many years laden with guilt towards his mother and sister.

Director’s Note
SheeshekeKhiloneis an urdu adaptation of the play The Glass Menagerie written by Tennessee Williams and adapted by BilquisZafeerulHasan. The play questions why God doesn’t take care of us humans,as Lubna takes care of her glass menageries. Why does God leave us to wander alone in tough times? This is in fact the motive of the play as expressed by Lubna’s brother Aijaaz, at the end of the play.Based on a simple storyline, this play portrays many things, which is why a drawing room set has been chosen for the stage setting.

The Director
Govind Singh Yadavstudied at National School of Drama and BharatenduNatyaAkademi. He has to his credit the direction of plays like Lolita, AndhaYug, AdheAdhure, KhamoshAdalatJaariHai, Miss Julie, KabiraKhada Bazar Me, Duvidha, BallabhpurkiRoop Katha, Do KoudikaKhel and Tansen, his most recent show. He receivedSangeetNatakAkademi’sBismillah Khan Award for Best Lighting in 2008.He studied theatre and light techniques at the National Theatre in Korea. Recently he visited the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London to study theatre further. He has designed light for the productions of the National School of Drama Repertory Company, the Theatre in Education wing (NSD), and NSD’s student productions. He is presently working as the stage manager, and light designer and executor forNSD Repertory Company.

The Playwright
Thomas Lanier ‘Tennessee’ Williams III(1911 – 1983) was an American playwright. Along with Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the foremost playwrights of 20th-century American Drama.Much of Williams’ most acclaimed work has been adapted for the cinema. He also wrote short stories, poetry, essays and a volume of memoirs. In 1979, four years before his death, Williams was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

The Group
The Dramatic Art and Design Association is an active theatre group working since 2005. The group has been active since a decade in New Delhi, Ghaziabad, Allahabad and Bangalore. Many young artists have worked in the group and gained training as actors for theatre, and also for the media i.e. TV and films.

Cast& Credits
Aijaz1: Suresh Sharma
Aijaz 2: PrasannaSoni
Nafeesa: AnjuJaitley/RatikaMehra
Lubna: Shipti Saberwal /TanviGoel
Amjad: Chinmoy Das/Deepak

Costumes: MotiLalKhare
Assistant: RatikaMehra
Music: Mukesh Kumar
Light: Govind Singh Yadav
Set: Rajesh Bahl
Property: MotilalKhare
Assistant: TanviGoel
Video Design: Nitin Kumar
Stage Manager: UpinNirmal, TanviGoel
Poster & Brochure: Govind Singh Yadav

Urdu Adaptation: BilquisZafeerulHasan
Playwright: Tennessee Williams
Design & Direction: Govind Singh Yadav

The Dramatic Art and Design Association is an active theatre group working since 2005. The group has been active since a decade in New Delhi, Ghaziabad, Allahabad and Bangalore. Many young artists have worked in the group and gained training as actors for theatre, and also for the media i.e. TV and films.

Playwright: Vasant Kanetkar
Adaptation & Direction: Pooja Vedvikhyat
Group: N.S.D. Diploma Production, New Delhi
Language: Hindi
Duration: 1 hr. 20 mins

The Play

Raktbeej is an adaptation of a famous Marathi play, Ithe Oshalala Mrutyu. It tells a story about war between two of the most powerful empires in 17thcentury, that of Marathas led by Chatrapati Sambhaji and Mughals by Alamgir Aurangzeb. The play has a complex web of characters including Yesubai the dutiful wife and queen, Kavi Kalash an ardent friend, Ganoji Shirke the devious sardar but a loving and doting brother of Yesubai and Asad Khan the devoted and loyal uncle of Aurangzeb. The play draws upon a mental canvas of conflicts between both Sambhaji and Aurangzeb as Kings fighting contradictions in personal and political battlefields.

Director’s Note

I wanted to explore the relevance of history in our contemporary socio – political scenarios. This play is not just a representation of a historic event, but dwells deep into complex psychological realities of those characters vividly. Although at a glance it seems like a historical narrative – of two kings and their kingdoms but its personages enact a complex web of human behavior.
Raktbeej is a story that explores varied perspectives of human personas than those just as – larger – than – life characters recorded in the annals of history. It also draws multiple facets of their natures and varied shades of their character. I approached the play through this dual purpose of having stood by an authentic historical narrative while exploring its nuance and niche.

The Director

Pooja Vedvikhyat is a Performer, Director and Designer who places her work in new spirit of emerging theater and relates it to contemporary issues. She graduated from National School of Drama 2018 while completing a course from DUENDE School of Ensemble Physical Theater under the guidance of director, John Britton. She directs plays of varied nature and flavor like: Kus Badaltana and Andher Nagri Chaupat Raja. Her forte is history and family dramas.

The Playwright

Vasant Shankar Kanetkar (20 March 1920 – 31 January 2000) was a Marathi playwright and novelist. He was born in the town of Rahimatpur in Satara district, Maharashtra, India.
After passing M.A. exam in 1948 from Sangli, he joined as lecturer in Nashik in 1950. He received wide acclaim from audiences for his play, Raigadala Jewha Jag Yete and continued writing several successful renderings for the stage. He kept the Marathi commercial theatre vibrant and alive for more than two decades with several successful stage renderings. His best five plays received awards of the year by Maharashtra State Government.

The Group

This play is being presented as a part of National School of Drama’s graduate showcase (class of 2018), which aims to provide a platform for emerging theatre practitioners, allowing them to share their work with a wider audience.

Cast & Credits

Yesubai: Pallavi Jadhao
Sambhaji: Prasanna Hambarde
Kavi Kalash: Sanjeev Jaiswal
Aurangzeb: Punsilemba Maitai
Asadkhan: Ankur Saxena
Pralhad Niraji: Salim Mulla
Ganoji Shirke: Guneet Singh
Rakshak: Ajay Khatri, Nikhil Pandey, Jayant Rabha, Ravindra Garewal, Abhishek, Tanay, Abhishek, Azim Mirza
Shahir: Snehalata Tagde, Deeksha Tiwari

Set Design: Pooja Vedvikhyat.
Sound Design & Execution: Aniruddha Bhoodhar, Vatary Bhoopati, Sham Rastogi, Akash Gupta, Nikhil Pandey
Costume& Headgear: Aruja Srivastava, Bhagyashree Tarke
Costume Assistance: Nishigandha Ghanekar
Light Design: Saras Kumar, Gaurav Sharma
Poster Design: Ujjwal Kumar, Adwait Morey

Playwright: Vasant Kanetkar
Adaptation, Design & Direction: Pooja Vedvikhyat

This play is being presented as a part of National School of Drama’s graduate showcase (class of 2018), which aims to provide a platform for emerging theatre practitioners, allowing them to share their work with a wider audience.

Playwright: Saptarshi Maulik
Director: Rudraprasad Sengupta
Group: Nandikar, Kolkata
Language: Bengali
Duration: 1 hr 50 mins

The Play
The story starts with a pregnant lady taking her dying husband to the hospital by pulling a rickshaw on her own. But the hospital refuses to treat him and finally he dies. The pregnant lady cremates her husband and takes shelter on the footpath. The night guards of the city rape her repeatedly and one night she bites their sex organs! After a few days, Rabi, a rickshaw-puller, hears a baby weeping in a pile of garbage. He adopts the abandoned baby and names her Pari. He has now found a motive to live…. in bringing up Pari.
Time passes. Now, Pari is a mother but she surrenders her little son, Bodhisotwo, to Rabi’s custody and disappears. Rabi raises Bodhisotwo and leaves behind him a stable along with poor pets – an unfledged parrot, a lame cat, etc. Will Bodhisotwo’s life maintain an undisturbed flow with these pets? Will the roads of our city allow him to grow up as its citizen? Will he be able to live alone…?

The Director
Rudraprasad Sengupta was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bengal. He studied at the Scottish Church College of the University of Calcutta where he earned his B.A. and M.A degrees in English literature. He was formerly a reader in English at the Brahmananda Keshab Chandra College, Calcutta, and a visiting lecturer in the Drama Department of Rabindra Bharati University. In 1961 he joined the Kolkata-based theatre group Nandikar and in the early 1970s started to direct several plays for the group. In the late 1970s he became the leader of the group. He has directed many plays for Nandikar including Football and Feriwalar Mrityu among others. He has also appeared in some Bengali art films, Bernardo Bertolucci’s Little Buddha, and Roland Joffé’s City of Joy. He has received numerous awards to include Best Actor and Director Award from Theatre Journalists Assn. (W.B.) in 1975 & 1976, Best Director’s Award from Critics’ Circle of India in 1979, the highest national award from Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1980, Girish Award as Eminent Theatre Personality in 1980, Senior Fellowship, Department of Culture, Government of India (1984-1987 & 1996-1998), Kalakar Award as Best Actor in 1997, Carey Award for life-long contribution in 1998, Natya-Swapna-Kalpa 2000, Dinabandhu Puraskar in 2006, B V Karanth Samman (Bhopal) in 2007 and many more.

The Playwright
Saptarshi Maulik is presently the Assistant Treasurer of Nandikar. He is also a Training Assistant in Nandikar’s In- House Training and Theatre-in-Education Programmes in schools. He has worked with the inmates of Dumdum Central Correctional Home; students of IIEST, Shibpur; students of Seth Anandram Jaipuria College; and the students of IMI, Kolkata. He has acted in Nandikar productions and is the author of four plays.

The Group
Nandikar is a 56-year-old institution which has been at the forefront of the national theatre movement. Nandikar has participated in International festivals in the New York Fringe Theatre Festival, Bonn Biennale, four festivals in Sweden, and the London Nehru Centre and Edinburgh Festival in the UK. It has interacted with Universities of New York, California, and Riverside; Brecht Zentrum, FIRT and a number of ITIs in various countries. It has worked with the Ministries of Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports, Women and Child Development, and Human Resource Development (Department of Education); and also with the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Akademi, National School of Drama, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and the Indian Council for Social Science Research.

Cast & Credits
On Stage: Saptarshi Maulik, Anindita Chakraborty, Arghya Dey Sarkar, Rakesh Das, Shubhadeep Roy,
Ayon Ghosh, Pritam Kalyan Chakraborty, Souvik Bhattachraya, Somesh Saha

Costume: Solanki Dev
Decor: Ayon Ghosh
Light: Arghya Dey Sarkar
Music: Souvik Bhattacharya
Make-up: Shusree Mukherjee
Associate Director: Sohini Sengupta

Playwright: Saptarshi Maulik
Director: Rudraprasad Sengupta

Nandikar is a 56-year-old institution which has been at the forefront of the national theatre movement. Nandikar has participated in International festivals in the New York Fringe Theatre Festival, Bonn Biennale, four festivals in Sweden, and the London Nehru Centre and Edinburgh Festival in the UK. It has interacted with Universities of New York, California, and Riverside; Brecht Zentrum, FIRT and a number of ITIs in various countries. It has worked with the Ministries of Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports, Women and Child Development, and Human Resource Development (Department of Education); and also with the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Akademi, National School of Drama, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and the Indian Council for Social Science Research.