a mixtape for maladies
BY AHI KARUNAHARAN
ASB Waterfront Theatre 25 March 2023
OPEN STAGE: a mixtape for maladies
Writer
Ahi Karunaharan
Director
Jane Yonge with Ahi Karunaharan
Performers
Raj Varma
Gemma Naidoo
Ambika Kumar Ravikanth Gurunathan
Shaan Kesha Muhammad Nasir
Karishma Grebnoff Isha Bhatnaga-Stewert
Movement
Bhuvana Kannan
Music
Moksha Base Band
Singers
Shankar Narayanan
Aswathy Sasidharan
Dr. Vasanthan Raghuveeran
Acoustic Guitar
Dr. Vasanthan Raghuveeran
Guitarist
Prasanna Kumar
Keyboard
1hr 10mins approx
OPEN STAGE is Auckland Arts Festival’s series of performed play readings for theatre works in development.
PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY
IMAGE CREDIT (front cover): Ricardo Sivanathan
SUPPORTED BY
Albin Abraham
Band Managers
Siva Kumar
Abhishek Raj
Lighting Design
Leo Gene Peters
Stage Management
Ariadne Balthazar
True healing can only come with the cleansing of the wound – with truth. a mixtape for maladies is an ongoing artistic excavation of the multiple truths of my motherland’s past. Many of the stories of my Tamil community remain untold and there is very little in the way of public acknowledgment of our nation’s war history. This work is a small attempt to fill that silence.
— Ahi Karunaharan
Born in the UK, bred in Aotearoa, AHILAN KARUNAHARAN is a writer, actor, director and producer of Srilankan Tamil descent. From intimate encounters to large scale epics, pioneering works for the South Asian community, International Arts Festivals, immersive participatory installations and musicals, Karunaharan has been involved in shows, productions and festivals both nationally and internationally. Upon graduation from Victoria University of Wellington and Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, Karunaharan travelled to the UK and worked with the acclaimed theatre company Tara Arts, collaborating with various artists from around the world. Other stage appearances include Counting and Cracking for Belvoir St. Theatre, Awhi Tapu for Centrepoint, and The Night Mechanics for Tawata Productions.
Karunaharan founded the theatre company, Agaram Productions, which curated and produced the first ever South Asian Writers Festival here in Aotearoa, and continues to be one of the most important development theatre companies for new South Asian works in the country. “I’m most excited by creatives and practitioners looking to break boxes that they are put into and collaborate with those who don’t get the centre stage often.”
Directing highlights include A Fine Balance and Swabhoomi: Borrowed Earth for Prayas Theatre; the interactive outdoor extravaganza Kollywood Extras; Bollywood Blockbuster, Shoulda Woulda Coulda, Light vs Dark: The Adventures of Rama for Auckland Theatre Company; and the immersive participatory experience Samaroh: The Great Indian Carnival for Auckland Arts Festival. Most recently he directed The First Prime-Time Asian Sitcom for Silo Theatre in 2022 and is directing Auckland Theatre Company’s upcoming Basmati Bitch in July 2023.
Karunaharan’s writing credits for stage include Aotearoa’s first full-length Sri Lankan play The Mourning After, Anchorite, and The Adventures of Rama. His play Tea which he wrote and directed for the 2018 Auckland Arts Festival, was the hottest ticket in town and sold out well before the opening night. Tea was awarded Excellence for Overall Production at the Auckland Theatre Awards.
Karunaharan wrote and directed My Heart Goes Thadak Thadak for Silo Theatre and Associate Artistic Director for Silo Theatre. produced First World Problems for Agaram Productions and Yatra for Prayas Theatre. He was the Artistic Curator for Short and Sweet Festival. He freelances as a dramaturg, tutor and musician, and has worked for BATS Theatre and the Basement Theatre in the Programming Department. He has also worked with Sydney Festival and Adelaide Festival and with Native Earth and Planet IndigenoUS Festival. In 2018 Karunaharan won The Bruce Mason Playwright Award, recognising his work as an outstanding New Zealand playwright, and an Excellence in Arts Leadership award in 2019. He is the recipient of multiple Auckland Theatre Awards and was an Arts Foundation Laureate in 2020, receiving the Sir Roger Hall Theatre Award.
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