Angels & Demons

The most obvious reason for Tin Can being involved with this project wase the fact that the novel is set in Kolkata,a city which has been used as a leitmotif in almost all Tin Can productions,including Intro and Video. “Apart from being a very well-written book,Shaitan of Calcutta is actually a treasure trove of information for anyone who wants to learn about early 20th century Kolkata. Peter has talked about the Anglo-Indian experience in the city with such consummate sincerity that it’s hard not to be touched,” says Biswas.

A murder mystery set in 1960s Calcutta,the novel tells the story of the young widow Mrs Joan D’Silva,whose detective instincts lead her into a dangerous underground world of corruption,violence,sexual exploitation and political unrest.

The book was published in June 2009 by Parthian,and has been praised for ‘its vivid evocation of a bygone era’ and its rich descriptions of Indian cuisine,landscape and culture. Now the British Council has awarded a development grant from the ‘Connections Through Culture’ scheme to Parthian to develop a stage adaptation of the book,in partnership with Tin Can.

The workshop was held in the city to facilitate the adaptation process. “The most exciting thing about the project is that we are all involved in the process. The playwright and the writer are generally isolated participators in the process. Here,we were all involved in the process—the actors,the musicians and even the production people. That of course made the experience a rich and a dynamic one,” says Tanaji Dasgupta of Tin Can.