My AccountTheatre is back in full swing for 2023 – and it’s going big
Here are 5 big stories, big stars and big musicals to catapult theatregoers off their comfy couches – and perhaps create new audiences,...
- Directed by Ravi Jain
- Written and adapted by Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes, using poetry from Carole Satyamurti’s "Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling"
Presented in partnership with the Shaw Festival, Mahabharata is a contemporary take on a Sanskrit epic that is more than four thousand years old and foundational to Indian culture. This gripping story of a family feud is an exploration of profound philosophical and spiritual ideas. Why Not Theatre’s large-scale retelling stars a cast entirely of performers from the South Asian diaspora and presents a complex hybrid of cultures balancing East and West, traditional and contemporary. Mahabharata is a visually stunning spectacle presented in two parts that takes audiences on a journey through the past in order to write a thrilling new future.
Company
At Why Not Theatre we push boundaries, build community, and find new ways. Rethink how stories are told. And who gets to tell them. We MAKE great work that takes chances, and tours all over the world. We SHARE everything we have because more artists mean more stories. We PROVOKE change because we believe art should be for everyone. At Why Not we make things, better.
Touring inquiries: Karen Tisch
karen@whynot.theatre
Creative team
- Directed by Ravi Jain
- Written and adapted by Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes, using poetry from Carole Satyamurti’s "Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling"
- Original concept developed with Jenny Koons
- Set designer Lorenzo Savoini
- Costume Designer Gillian Gallow
- Lighting Designer Kevin Lamotte
- Projections Designer Hana S. Kim and Ann Slote
- Sound Designer John Gzowski and Suba Sankaran
- Music by Suba Sankaran and John Gzowski
- Traditional music consultant Hasheel Lodhia
- Producer Kevin Matthew Wong
National Creation Fund investment
The National Creation Fund’s investment of $225,000 will allow Why Not Theatre to bring together the international cast, musicians and the creative team for several extended workshops to collectively develop the three parts of the large-scale project.
Credits
Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter Program, Shaw Festival, Wuchien Michael Than Foundation
Developed with support from the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund.
Performance dates
Mahabharata makes its World Premiere at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Canada, from February 28 to March 9, 2023. Tickets on sale now.
