At India Habitat Centre, a festival where life, memory and loss take centre stage

The festival opens with ‘Dancing With Dad’, written and directed by Maneesh Verma. At its heart are Noor, a neurodivergent boy, and his single father, a contemporary dancer. Together, they “try to navigate the world which is not ready for them”.

The festival opens with ‘Dancing With Dad’, written and directed by Maneesh Verma. At its heart are Noor, a neurodivergent boy, and his single father, a contemporary dancer. Together, they “try to navigate the world which is not ready for them”.

For Verma, the story began years ago, when he was studying acting at the National School of Drama, Delhi. “One of my seniors, Itzik Weingarten, an Israeli actor, had performed a play, where a 40-year-old neurodivergent man recalls his relationship with his father. I was moved to tears… Since then the idea to work on something similar has been on my mind,” he says.

Verma has now returned to that memory, rewriting the idea as an interdisciplinary production combining theatre, live music and dance – all blending together, to tell a story. “The whole attempt is to really try and make the audience feel what the world of a neurodivergent feels like,” he says.

On September 23, the festival will witness ‘The Tragedy of Ham MacLear’, a play written and directed by Akash Khurana. Ham, a passionate Shakespeare veteran, is struggling with dementia. His long-time companions, Busker and Chorus, must find a way to honour the actor and his legacy while ensuring his well-being.

“This play is not merely about the person who goes through dementia but also the people around him who actually have a bigger challenge in terms of being his caregivers,” says Khurana.

‘Cilappatikaram/The Anklet’s Verdict’, directed by Sooraj Nambiar, brings Ilango Adigal’s ancient Tamil epic into the meditative vocabulary of Kutiyattam. ‘Bhasabharatam’, directed by Piyal Bhattacharya, revisits the timeless plays of Bhasa through the oral traditions of Charan and Bhatta. The programme also includes ‘Breast of Luck’, ‘Amb Da Boota’ and ‘The Queen’.

Further, the festival will feature three other performances – ‘Maaye Ni Meri Akh Lag Gaya’, ‘Home in a Suitcase’ and ‘Hindi Medium Tight’.

“The curation of this year’s festival has been guided by the idea of presenting a programme that is varied, engaging and representative of the many ways in which theatre is being imagined today. We have looked at the diversity of stories, languages, theatrical forms and perspectives while putting the programme together,” says Syed Shadab Hussain, Head of Programmes, IHC.