Syaah Hashiyon ki Roshni by Kaj Himmelstrup
The Play
Syaah Hashiyon ki Roshni revolves around three people who are caught in an isolated place situated near the merging borders of two regions which may have a common ethnic background. The dialects spoken by the characters differ from each other, aggravating the conflict further to the level of violence.
The whole world, including India, stands at a juncture where internal boundaries are being created due to political reasons. Marxists, Jihadis, Hindu fundamentalists and other such groups have emerged in the last decade or so due to political dissatisfaction and nonchalance of the government’s attitude towards civil liberty and human rights. This play is an attempt to touch the depths of the human psyche by permeating through the layers of culture, religion,
ethnicity and language.
Director’s Note
Many opinions are made and many are changed when the characters of this play start questioning each other. The situation may have been caused due to war. But a much more sinister battle is happening within the confines of one’s soul. These characters meet at a point where no ideological jargon can support their voices. It is a situation where no pretensions or false notions find a place.
The Director
Rajesh Singh was born in West Champaran district of Bihar in 1979. He completed his graduation from Bihar University and studied theatre at Shri Ram Centre for performing arts. After completing the course he worked with the Sahitya kala Parishad repertory and Shri Ram Centre repertory. Then, he studied at National School of Drama, New Delhi with specialization in Theatre Techniques and Design. He also took training in music from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Delhi. In 2008 he was awarded with INLAKS Scholarship and went to London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, UK for a course in Theatre Design, Direction and Stage Management. After completing his NSD & LAMDA training he engaged creatively with many theatre groups as designer, director and music designer and also actively participated in various theatre workshops organized by National School of Drama, Extension
Department as a resource person. He was awarded the Mahindra Award for Excellence in Theatre Arts for Sound design of the play Laila Majnu. Currently, he is working as the artistic show director for the musical theatrical production in Kingdom of Dream Company, Gurgaon. He is also running a theatre company Flying Feathers Art Association.
The Playwright
Kaj Himmelstrup is a retired teacher, musician and playwright from Denmark. He was the member of the Board of the Danish Dramatists' Association for 8 years in the 1970s and the federal representative of the Danish Art Council. He has written many screenplays for television and is the recipient of numerous awards. Some of his famous plays are Clatta, The Mansion, The Dear Little Ones, Black Laces Green Olives, Richard’s Guest and The
Spoilsport amongst others.
Cast & Credits
Man : Teekam Joshi
Girl : Nidhi Mishra
Soldier : Shaurya Shanker
Light Design : Govind Singh Yadav
Scenic Painting : Aruna Malik
Sound Design : Sandy
Poster & Brochure : Vishala R Mahale
Backstage : Mazibur Rehman, Souti Chakraborty
Original Playwright : Kaj Himmelstrup
Hindi Translation : Nalini R Joshi
Scenic Design & Direction : Rajesh Singh