Part 1 & 2
Mahabharata
Written and Created by Miriam Fernandes and
Meher Pavri, Neil D’Souza. Directed by Ravi Jain with Associate Director Miriam Fernandes, set designed by Lorenzo Savoini, costumes designed by Gillian Gallow, lighting designed by Kevin Lamotte, projections designed by Hana S. Kim, with associate projections designer Ann Slote, original music and sound designed by John Gzowski and Suba Sankaran, traditional music consultant Hasheel Lodhia, choreographed by Brandy Leary, Lead Production Manager Crystal Lee, Lead Producer Kevin Matthew Wong. Photo by David Cooper.
Ravi Jain
Canadian Stage has four homes spread across our great city. The Bluma Appel and the Berkeley Street Complex bookend the vibrant St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood and run along what was once the shore of Lake Ontario. Our beautiful High Park Amphitheatre is nestled within the grassy mounds and forests of our city’s most beloved park. Our most recent addition, the Winter Garden Theatre, is located right in the bustling downtown core. Canadian Stage is grateful to be able to tell our stories on this bountiful land that we all share.
This sacred land has held story for thousands of years: stories that live in the fabric of who we are as a nation. Canadian Stage would like to acknowledge and thank the original caretakers and knowledge keepers of this territory: the Anishinaabe Nations (including the Mississaugas of the Credit), the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Wendat and Métis Nations. We give thanks to the Nations recorded and unrecorded, acknowledged and unacknowledged, who also share the responsibility for this territory. We honour the Dish With One Spoon Treaty and our responsibility to peaceably share and care for the resources that surround us. We are honoured to be in this meeting place called Tkaronto that many First Nations, Inuit and Métis people from across Turtle Island call home.
A Why Not Theatre Production presented by Canadian Stage with Why Not Theatre
Part 1 & 2
Mahabharata
Written & Created by Miriam Fernandes & Ravi Jain, using poetry from Carole Satyamurti’s Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling
Originally commissioned and presented by the Shaw Festival in association with Barbican, London
Shawn Ahmed Yudhishthira
Neil D’Souza Krishna
Jay Emmanuel Shiva/Amba/ Eklavya/Drupada
Miriam Fernandes Storyteller
Ravin J. Ganatra Dhritarashtra
Director
Ravi Jain
Associate Director
Miriam Fernandes
Set Designer
Lorenzo Savoini
Costume Designer
Gillian Gallow
Lighting Designer
Kevin Lamotte
Associate
Lighting Designer
Mikael Kangas
Darren Kuppan Duryodhana
Anaka MaharajSandhu Arjuna
Goldy Notay Draupadi/ Gandhari
Ellora Patnaik Kunti/Drona
Meher Pavri Voice of Krishna
Cast
Sakuntala Ramanee Shakuni/Sanjaya
Ronica Sajnani StandbyDhritarashtra, Bhishma, Drona/Kunti
Ishan Sandhu StandbyShakuni/Sanjaya, Krishna, Arjuna and Khana & Kahani Performer
Creative
Projection
Designer
Hana S. Kim
Associate
Projection
Designer
Ann Slote
Original Music & Sound Designer
John Gzowski & Suba Sankaran
Traditional Music Consultant
Hasheel Lodhia
Choreographer
Brandy Leary with contributions from:
Jay Emmanuel Ellora Patnaik
Kathakali Advisor Kalamandalam ThulasiKumar
Original concept developed with Jenny Koons
*TD Leadership Fellow
Navtej Sandhu Karna/Satyavati
Munish Sharma Bhima
Arun Varma StandbyKarna, Bhima, Yudhishthira, Duryodhana Sukania Venugopal Bhishma
Creative Associate, Khana & Kahani
Storyteller
Sharada K Eswar
Lead Production Manager
Crystal Lee*
Lead Producer
Kevin Matthew Wong*
Mahabharata: Karma (Part 1): 2 hours and 30 minutes, including a 20-minute interval
Mahabharata: Dharma (Part 2): 2 hours, including a 20-minute interval
John Gzowski Conductor, Co-Composer, Co-Sound Designer, Guitar
Suba Sankaran Band Leader, Co-Composer, Co-Sound Designer, Voice
Stage Manager
Neha Ross
Assistant Stage Managers
Victoria Wang & Jenny Kim
Technical Director
Daniel Bennett
Production Manager
Maya Royer*
Assistant Production Manager & Production Stage Manager (Khana & Kahani)
Jadi Darawi*
Musicians
Dylan Bell Bass, Keyboard, Music Contributions
Gurtej Singh Hunjan Percussion, Music Contributions
Crew
Head of Video &
Video Op
Matthew Mellinger
Head of Sound
Brandon Wells
Music Coordinator
Zaheer-Abbas Janmohamed
Head of Wardrobe Chanti Laliberte
Producer Naomi Campbell
Consulting Producer Rebecca Desmarais
*TD Emerging Leader
A Why Not Theatre Production
Zaheer-Abbas Janmohamed Tabla, Music Contributions
Hasheel Lodhia Bansuri, Voice, Music Contributions
Assistant Producer & Company Manager
Nika Jalali*
Production Finance
Sarah Newkirk
Production Marketing Mary Anderson
Why Not Theatre Executive Director
Karen Tisch
Mahabharata was developed with support from the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund and remounted with the generous support of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity through a theatre residency in January 2025.
Mahabharata includes text with permission from Carole Satyamurti’s Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling, published by W. W. Norton & Company; Devdutt Pattanaik’s Jaya, An Illustrated Retelling Of The Mahabharata, published by Penguin Random House India; and the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore.
Why Not Theatre engages professional Artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the terms of the Independent Theatre Agreement.
Canadian Stage is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres and engages professional Artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the terms of the jointly negotiated Canadian Theatre Agreement. Stage Employees are represented by IATSE Local 58 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. *Indicated designers on this production are represented by the Associated Designers of Canada, IATSE Local SC659
Playwrights’ Note
Miriam Fernandes & Ravi Jain
Mahabharata was once described to us as a dense forest of stories that one needs to carve one’s own path through. That act of carving, ploughing, and weeding, feels true to the journey we’ve been on over these past ten years. Which trees to start from? Which branches to trim so that others can enjoy the light? Do we take the most direct path through, or the winding scenic route?
At times, adapting this epic has felt equivalent to wrestling the wind. In one moment the story is unbelievably powerful and clear in its intentions. In the next moment its intentions slip through your fingers, impossible to grasp. It is vast and complex, constantly surprising you and contradicting itself.
One of the greatest respites during our journey has been spending time with past tellers of the epic. For thousands of years before the story was written down, it was passed from generation to generation orally, and so, there are as many Mahabharatas as there are storytellers. Assembling this version has been an enormous task of compilation. In compiling Mahabharata, we turned to many sutradhaars, which translates from Sanskrit to “the person that weaves the threads”. We want to express gratitude to a few key storytellers who have held up lanterns to help us see in the sometimes dark forest. Our love and respect to Sharada Eswar, Devdutt Pattanaik, Rustom Bharucha, Peter Brook and Jean-Claude Carrière, Rabindranath Tagore, B.R. Chopra, Amar Chitra Katha, and our deepest thanks to Carole Satyamurti, whose poetry and imagination have anchored our journey.
The revelation of the Mahabharata is to learn not to become distracted by the forest, or concerned with the wind, but to immerse oneself ever deeper into the earth, travelling deep into the labyrinth of its roots.
Miriam Fernandes
Associate Director of Mahabharata and Co-Artistic Director of Why Not Theatre
Ravi Jain
Director of Mahabharata and Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Why Not Theatre
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Director’s Note
Ravi Jain
Mahabharata was a story that played in the background of my childhood. I caught glimpses of it through a popular television series, a set of comic books and in the paintings and sculptures of ancient temples I’d visited in India. The characters infiltrated my imagination, but I never really knew the story –only pieces, episodes, the television theme song.
I also knew Mahabharata through different styles of traditional dance. I watched numerous friends’ ‘dance graduations’, where nine of ten dances would inevitably be stories from Mahabharata. For thousands of years it has been told over and over, in many different ways. How could we tell Mahabharata today and have its messages resonate with modern audiences?
Our team felt that exploring how this story has been told over the centuries was just as important as the story’s plot. Our telling blends traditional and modern, east and west, and includes various forms of Indian dance, storytelling, live music and even a Sanskrit opera!
We’ve also tried to mimic many people’s real-life experience – receiving these stories through an interpretation and lesson, over a meal. Each of these forms of storytelling help to unlock Mahabharata’s meanings: they help us reach beyond words and narrative to access its spiritual and philosophical underpinnings.
It’s rare to experience Mahabharata from beginning to end in one day. It needs time. It requires perspective. Its stories stay with you – their contradictions become the subject of conversations and debates, and as we age those meanings change.
Miriam (Fernandes) and I have sat with this story for eight years. A lot has happened since we began. The best advice I can give to you is a line from our play’s Storyteller: ‘Don’t be confused by plots. Within the river of stories flows infinite wisdom. That is your true inheritance’.
Ravi Jain
Director of Mahabharata
Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Why Not Theatre
Mahabharata
Family
Tree
Legend
Pandavas Kauravas
Others Character in performance
Shantanu Ganga
Chitrangada
Ambika Wife
Vichitravirya
Dhritarashtra The Blind
Duryodhana +100 Kauravas
Surya The Sun God
Abhimanyu
Parikshit
Janamejaya
Vyasa Sage Parasara
Uttara Wife
Ambalika Wife
Madri Wife Bhishma
Yudhishthira Bhima Arjuna
Nakula & Sahadeva Twins
Draupadi Princess of the Pandavas
Pandu The Pale
Gandhari Queen Shakuni Brother Satyavati Karna
Kunti Princess
Shawn Ahmed – Yudhishthira
Shawn is an actor and filmmaker known for bringing humanity to roles both hilarious and harrowing. On-screen, you may recognize him from inciting a mutiny aboard the UNN Agatha King (The Expanse), melting hearts as a Hallmark hunk (Holidazed), or smoking reefer and writing an alien into his sitcom (DC’s Legends). On stage, Shawn’s highlights include two seasons at the Shaw Festival. This production marks his return to Toronto theatre since 2017—a meaningful homecoming, having spent five years behind the scenes at Canadian Stage with their sales and marketing team.
Neil D’Souza – Krishna
Neil is an actor and writer. His work includes Out Of Season (Hampstead Theatre), How To Hold Your Breath (Royal Court), Much Ado (Royal Shakespeare Company), The Man Of Mode (National), Austin (ABC), Slow Horses (Apple TV) Diamonds (Netflix) Renegade Nell (Disney), Eastenders (BBC), In The Long Run (Sky), The Goddess and Dear Harry Kane (BBC Radio 4). As a writer: The Goddess (BBC), and three plays for London UK theatres, including Out of Season (2024). Neil teaches acting and writing and is a member of the RADA audition panel.
Jay Emmanuel – Shiva/Amba/Eklavya/Drupada
Born in India and based in Australia, Jay is an award-winning actor, director, and the founding Artistic Director of Encounter. He has directed innovative works emphasizing authentic storytelling, including Beneath the Music and Children of the Sea (Perth Festival 2021). As a performer, he starred in acclaimed productions like Counting and Cracking (Belvoir St./Co-Curious/ Adelaide Festival) and Heroes by Radhouane El-Meddeb. A 2023 WA Multicultural Arts award recipient and Churchill fellow, Jay is celebrated for his global leadership, community engagement, collaboration, and best practices in the arts.
Miriam Fernandes – Associate Director, Storyteller
Miriam is the Co-Artistic Director of the Toronto-based international company Why Not Theatre, and has worked as an actor, director, and theatre-maker around the world. She is the co-creator/associate director for Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre) and the co-creator/associate director of What You Won’t Do for Love with Drs. David Suzuki and Tara Cullis. She is currently in development for a number of new works including a new adaptation of Enemy of the People. Directing credits include The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrongs (Stratford Festival Meighan Forum), Metamorphoses (CDTPS), Hayavadana (Soulpepper Theatre), Nesen (MiniMidiMaxi Festival, Norway), The First Time I Saw the Sea (YVA Company, Norway). She is a graduate of Ecole Jacques Lecoq (Paris), and has trained with Anne Bogart and the SITI Company. Her plays have been turned into films, published and produced across Canada, the UK, Australia and Norway.
Ravin J. Ganatra – Dhritarashtra
Ravin is a long-time actor based in the UK. His career has spanned over three decades and has included stage, film, and television. As a producer, his feature documentary, A Girl Can Touch the Sky, received 12 international awards and is now streaming globally. Ravin is passionate about travel and charity, and has started a not for profit to facilitate fundraising initiatives. He is delighted to work on Mahabharata, having originally discussed the collaboration with Ravi Jain nearly a decade ago.
Darren Kuppan – Duryodhana
Darren has been part of Mahabharata since its humble beginnings many years ago, and he’s so proud of the show it’s become and the special people it’s brought into his life. Using his skills as a dancer and martial artist, bringing the character of Duryodhana to life has been one of his proudest achievements. His theatre, TV and radio credits are extensive, and he’s worked in some of the most prestigious theatres in the UK, most recently playing Shere Khan in The Jungle Book
Anaka Maharaj-Sandhu – Arjuna
Born on Treaty One Territory, Anaka is a South-Asian, gender nonconforming artist with a passion for storytelling that transcends boundaries. Their work is inspired by a fascination with everyday life and the shared emotional experience of performance. Anaka’s background in political science informs their practice, often focusing on community impact. They aim to challenge traditional narratives by offering fresh interpretations of the ‘classics’. Anaka is honoured to be at Canadian Stage, and dedicates this performance to their ancestors and loved ones: for Nanie, Nana, Biji, Grandpa, and Darius.
Goldy Notay – Draupadi/Gandhari
Goldy played Amma in the Olivier award-winning production Life of Pi, directed by Max Webster. Previously, Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre), All of Us (National Theatre London), Abigail’s Party (by Mike Leigh), The Game of Love and Chance (Tara Theatre), and Pink Sari Revolution (English Touring Theatre). TV and film credits include Little English, It’s A Wonderful Afterlife, Sex and the City 2, and My Own Country. Goldy received a Best Actress Award for the film, Chapter Two, and a Best Actress Nomination for The Dishonoured
Ellora Patnaik – Kunti/Drona
Ellora was born in Toronto and grew up as an Odissi Indian Classical dancer. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (NYC). Recent film and TV projects include Sort Of, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Calorie, Law and Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, One Small Visit, Kim’s Convenience, Ginny & Georgia, and Schitt’s Creek. Ellora has performed in an array of theatre productions, including Crones, A Christmas Carol, Standing On My Knees, Nagamandala, Umrao Jaan Ada, The Penelopiad, Romeo and Juliet, Acha Bacha, Much Ado About Nothing, and Free Outgoing
Meher Pavri – Voice of Krishna
Parsi-Canadian soprano, Meher hails from London, Ontario. She is a multidisciplinary artist who enjoys performing in opera, musical theatre and film/television and is most passionate about new Canadian works. Career highlights include: Maria in West Side Story (Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Niagara Symphony Orchestra); soloist in Soulpepper Theatre shows, most recently 88 Keys; roles in the world premiere of The Overcoat (Canadian Stage, Tapestry Opera, Vancouver Opera), Bend It Like Beckham: The Musical (Starvox), and Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre).
Sakuntala Ramanee – Shakuni/Sanjaya
Sakuntala trained in Drama at Kent University. Theatre credits include The Red Shoes (Royal Shakespeare Company), Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre), Life Of Pi (West End), Romeo and Juliet (RSC at Stratford, the Barbican, UK tour), The Forest (Hampstead Theatre), Father and the Assassin (National Theatre Olivier), East Is East (Jamie Lloyd, UK tour), Coventry Mystery Plays (Belgrade, Coventry), Dead Eye (Soho Theatre and Birmingham Rep), Camille (Lyric Hammersmith, UK tour), and Maa (The Royal Court). Television credits include Granite Harbour, Emmerdale, Line of Duty, Hustle, and Coronation Street
Ronica Sajnani – Standby - Dhritarashtra, Bhishma, Drona/Kunti
Ronica is an actor whose select theatre credits include A Brimful of Asha (Theatre Antigonish), My Granny the Goldfish (Factory Theatre), and Rice Boy (Canadian Stage). Film and television credits include Water (directed by Deepa Mehta), Run the Burbs, Sort Of, TallBoyz (CBC), Good Sam (CBS), Sneakerella (Disney), Wedding Season, Black Mirror (Netflix), Kids in the Hall (2022) (Amazon), and Workin’ Moms (CBC/Netflix). Awards include Theatre Nova Scotia Robert Merritt nominee, Best Lead and Production (A Brimful of Asha), Academy Award nominee (Water), and nine Genie Award nominations.
Ishan Sandhu – Standby - Shakuni/Sanjaya, Krishna, Arjuna and Khana & Kahani Performer
Chandigarh, a small town in North India designed by a French architect, is where Ishan calls home and is where he first dreamt of becoming an actor.
He has been acting for as long as he can remember, but mostly in service to escape his mother’s chappal. After dodging his way through that, he pursued a BFA in Acting from the University of British Columbia. Most recently, you can see him in Normal Scotia on Fibe TV, a television show about immigrants working in a curling club.
Navtej Sandhu – Karna/Satyavati
Navtej is a Toronto-based actor, born in Long Island, New York. Her most recent acting credits include Jin in The Caged Bird Sings, directed by Rafeh Mahmud, and Karna/Satyavati in Mahabharata, directed by Ravi Jain. Navtej is also a skilled vocalist with credits including Devi Triptych by Red Beti Theatre and Jungle Book by Kidoons Productions. Navtej currently holds an Intermediate Actor Combatant Certificate with experience performing her own stunts.
Munish Sharma – Bhima
Munish is an actor, writer and dancer. He began his career in Vancouver creating sketch shows and cabarets and has been working in theatre for over a decade. Munish is beyond grateful to be part of this fantastic show. It’s a dream come true. Love to his family and friends for their support.
Arun Varma – Standby - Karna, Bhima, Yudhishthira, Duryodhana
Arun is a widely versed performer of stage, screen, and vocal booth. He has had the pleasure of working in multiple cities across Canada. Selected theatre works include national touring productions of Jungle Book and Frankenstein: A Living Comic Book (Kidoons), and From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea (Geordie Theatre). Arun is thrilled to have the opportunity to work on this epic undertaking of such a culturally keystone piece as the Mahabharata, and hopes you enjoy the spectacle!
Sukania Venugopa – Bhishma
Sukania is an actor from Malaysia. Her work includes Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre), which was first performed in Niagara on the Lake in Canada in 2023, and later that fall at the Barbican in London, UK. Her work also includes the Australian production, Counting and Cracking (Belvoir Theatre), performed in Sydney (2019, 2024), Adelaide (2019), Edinburgh Festival (2023), Birmingham, UK (2023), Melbourne (2024), and New York (2024).
Creative
Ravi Jain – Director
Ravi is a highly acclaimed theatremaker known for making politically bold, accessible, and thought-provoking theatrical experiences that are changing the face of Canadian theatre. A visionary artistic director, versatile director, astute producer, and playful actor, he has spent his career reimagining what theatre can be, impacting the lives of both audiences and artists alike. Ravi has been a trailblazer in pushing the theatre sector forward. On stage, his productions, which consistently play with different forms of storytelling, bring underrepresented stories from unlikely storytellers to the fore, inviting audiences to reimagine stories they once knew and be open to ones that are unfamiliar. Off stage, he works to better the lives of artists and arts workers, spearheading innovative producing models for emerging artists, creating training programs for marginalized voices, and proposing bold policy ideas to activate civic spaces with art and rethink access through more affordable ticket pricing models. Ravi was born in 1980 in Etobicoke, Ontario. Growing up in an Indian home and attending French school in an English-speaking province opened his eyes to the beauty and depth of hybrid cultures and sparked a passion in him for travel and international collaboration. His passion for language led him to start his career as an actor. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and NYU’s Tisch School for the Arts, before making his way to École Jacques Lecoq, where he found his raison d’être: to effect change through theatre.
Lorenzo Savoini – Set Designer
Lorenzo is an award winning set, costume, and lighting designer for theatre, ballet, and opera. His work has been seen throughout Canada, United States, England and Cuba. Most recently, he designed the set and lighting for Winter Solstice (Necessary Angel/Canadian Stage), set for Sound of Music (The Grand Theatre), set and lighting for London Assurance, set and costumes for Hedda Gabler (Stratford Festival) and set for My Fair Lady (Shaw Festival). Lorenzo has received five Dora Awards and is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada.
Gillian Gallow – Costume Designer
Gillian is a set and costume designer based in Canada who has collaborated with theatre companies across the country, most notably with the Canadian Opera Company, Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival, Espace Go, Rideau Vert, Soulpepper, Canadian Stage, RMTC and The National Arts Centre, to name a few. Gillian is a graduate of York University’s Theatre Design Program and has received the Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award for Costume design, a Meta Award, four Dora Mavor Moore awards, and was the 2021 Siminovitch Prize Laureate.
Kevin Lamotte – Lighting Designer
Kevin has created lighting designs for many international performing arts companies. Recent productions include Mahabharata (Shaw Festival, Barbican), The Secret Garden, Gem of the Ocean, Desire Under the Elms (Shaw Festival), A Christmas Carol (Theatre Calgary), Traviata (Opéra de Montréal), Fidelio (Pacific Opera Victoria), and L’ Histoire du Soldat (Art of Time).
Kevin’s awards for outstanding lighting design include the Pauline McGibbon Award and the Dora Award. He is the Director of Lighting Design at the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake.
Mikael Kangas – Associate Lighting Designer
Mikael designs lights for theatre, opera, dance, events and film. Recent work include: Wozzeck, Madama Butterfly, Nabucco, Fantasma (Canadian Opera Company), Anything Goes, My Fair Lady, The Amen Corner, Damn Yankees, Trouble in Mind, Glass Menagerie, O’Flaherty VC (Shaw Festival), Chris Mrs. (Boldy Productions), Just for One Day, In Dreams, & Juliet (Mirvish). Mikael is the Lighting and Projection Design Coordinator for the Canadian Opera Company, and is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada and United Scenic Artists.
Hana S. Kim – Projection Designer
Hana is an immersive media designer and a visual artist for live performances. Recent credits include The Outsiders at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, The Old Man and The Pool at the Lincoln Center Theater, Summer 1976 at the MTC, Orfeo at the Santa Fe Opera, and The Harder They Come at the Public Theater. She is a recipient of the Tony Awards, the Princess Grace Awards in Theater Design, Richard Sherwood Award from CTG, and Kinetic Lighting Award for distinguished achievement in theatrical design from LA Drama Critics Circle.
Ann Slote – Associate Projection Designer
Ann attended the University of California Los Angeles and is a video and lighting designer based in Berlin and San Francisco. Video Design work includes Joywave’s Hellvetica and Cleanse tours; Quinn XCII’s festival tour; and MisterWives’ Resilient Little Tour on US tour. As Video Assistant/ Animator, work includes Stranger Love at LA Philharmonic; Goddess at Berkeley Rep; Dancin’ at The Old Globe and The Sound Inside on Broadway. Lighting Design work includes Best Funeral Ever (my russian funeral) for Ballhaus Ost; and What You Will for Project Nongenue.
John Gzowski – Conductor, Co-Composer, Co-Sound Designer, Guitar
John is a composer, sound designer, musician, and instrument maker. He has created sound design and performed live foley and music in shows across Canada. His theatre work has garnered 6 Dora Awards, with nominations from Ex Machina, Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival, Luminato Toronto, National Arts Centre, the Mirvishes, MTC, the Arts Club, Canadian Stage, Soulpepper, Dancemakers, Tarragon, Factory Theatre, and YPT. John has played on numerous records, with artists such as Patricia O’Callaghan, Tasa, and Autorickshaw, and received a Juno nomination with Maza Meze.
Suba Sankaran – Band Leader, Co-Composer, Co-Sound Designer, Voice
Suba is a Dora-award winning, thrice Juno-nominated musician who combines musical worlds and seamlessly crosses genres, performing worldwide with Indo-fusion ensemble Autorickshaw, a cappella livelooping FreePlay, and 80s revue Retrocity. She has performed for Peter Gabriel, Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu, collaborated with Deepa Mehta, and has performed with the Swingles, Bobby McFerrin, Lorraine Segato and Jane Siberry. She is a performer, educator, composer, choral director and sound designer. Suba was recently awarded the prestigious 2023 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize and the 2023 Kathleen McMorrow Music Award.
Hasheel Lodhia – Traditional Music Consultant, Bansuri, Voice, Music Contributions
Hasheel is a queer Hindustani Artist, trained in vocals as well as the bansuri. He has been learning music since the age of five under his father and started playing the bansuri under the guidance of Shri Jeetu Sharma. Hasheel is currently a senior student of the legendary Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Pandit Ajay Pohankar. His music mixes Amapiano, electronica, R&B, and Bollywood with a steady undertone of traditional Indian Classical. Performances have included those with Kailash Kher, Hariharan, Karsh Kale, and for academy award winner A. R. Rahman.
Brandy Leary – Choreographer
Brandy is a choreographer and dancer. Her body of work has been commissioned and produced in Canada, Europe, India, the Arctic, South Africa, and the USA, occupying theatres, urban environments, festivals, museums, art galleries, and landscapes. Her choreographies have been described as “phenomenological interventions” (Canadian Theatre), “soulful and sensuous” (NYTimes), and “magisterial movement”(UK Guardian). Brandy is a senior Kalarippayattu practitioner studying for two decades under traditional martial artist VM Vikas Gurukal in Kozhikode (IN), and Founder/Artistic Director of Anandam Dance Theatre and Co-Founder/Co-Director of Collective Space (Toronto).
Sharada K Eswar – Creative Associate, Khana & Kahani Storyteller
Sharada is an Indo-Canadian writer, singer and storyteller and currently the Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre. Her work has been featured in Canada and internationally. Selected credits include Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre), blue skies, red earth & tall pines (Jumblies Theatre), Chitra (Shaw Festival), Hayavadana (Why Not Theatre/Soulpepper Theatre), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Stratford Festival), Abhimanyu (Theatre Direct/National Arts Centre). Upcoming work includes The Butcher’s Song, La-la Land (Jumblies Theatre).
Crystal Lee – Lead Production Manager
Crystal is originally from a small east coast Canadian community in the Chaleur Region. Her first exposure to theatre was in a local high school auditorium – a touring production of The Velveteen Rabbit. After the experience, she was enthralled in how theatre was able to capture effective magic with simple sequences, and felt most comfortable facilitating that magic as a production manager. Best advice that has guided her practice? Don’t prep for perfection, but instead for spontaneity! Crystal trained at the National Theatre School of Canada.
Kevin Matthew Wong – Lead Producer
Kevin is a Hakka-Canadian theatre creator, dramaturg, video artist, and producer. Kevin is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Broadleaf Creative, a company that produces social justice and climate justiceinformed artworks. Kevin is also the Director of Producing and Creative Associate at Why Not Theatre leading a diverse portfolio of large-scale and internationally touring projects. Kevin is the inaugural winner of both the Jini Stolk Creative Fellowship and the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Innovative Experience. Kevin’s upcoming “Benevolence” series is a triptych spanning film, theatre and installation, exploring guesthood and legacy.
Musicians
Dylan Bell – Bass, Keyboard, Music Contributions
In one word: multifaceted. Juno-nominated Dylan is a vocalist, instrumentalist (piano, bass, guitar, Stick, percussion), composer/arranger, music director, producer/engineer, educator, and author. Dylan’s musical curiosity keeps him effortlessly blurring musical boundaries with Canada’s premier vocal ensembles Hampton Avenue, The Watch, FreePlay, and Retrocity. Behind the mixing board, Dylan has produced/engineered several award-winning albums for vocal legends such as The Swingles (UK) and The Nylons (Canada). He has written two books on a cappella arranging, and his choral compositions and arrangements are performed worldwide.
Gurtej Singh Hunjan – Percussion, Music Contributions
Gurtej is a Juno Award nominated multi-instrumentalist composer and DJ. His training in North Indian rhythm informs his approach to writing and performance. His most recent composing contributions can be heard in season one of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s hit series, Sort Of. Gurtej is passionate about collaboration and continues to explore traditional and contemporary modalities of musical expression. He thanks his teachers and influences who continually inspire.
Zaheer-Abbas Janmohamed – Tabla, Music Contributions, Music Coordinator
Zaheer-Abbas is a Toronto-based tabla player who brings the tradition of tabla to new contexts through his artistic practice and collaborations. He has played extensively in Toronto with various local artists at many of the city’s well-known venues. He has performed across Canada in a variety of classical, semi-classical, and contemporary settings, including appearances such as Sonic Landscapes (Surbahar) with Ustad Irshad Khan, Sufi folk music of Mukhtiyar Ali, and Rifflandia Festival. Zaheer-Abbas is a musician in Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre), which most recently toured to London, UK in 2023.
Neha Ross – Stage Manager
Neha is a stage manager based in Tkaronto, Canada. She is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to meaningful theatre and to collaborate with talented artists and teams around the world. Selected credits include: Why Not Theatre: Mahabharata, Prince Hamlet, ICELAND, We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About…Between the Years 1884–1915. Canadian Stage: Playing Shylock. Soulpepper Theatre: Kim’s Convenience, Bad Parent, Animal Farm, Kamloopa Crow’s Theatre: Perceptual Archaeology. Young Peoples Theatre: One Thing Leads to Another. Obsidian Theatre: Other Side of the Game. fuGEN: Lady in the Red Dress
Jenny Kim – Assistant Stage Manager
Jenny is a stage manager based in Vancouver, BC. Credits include Mahabharata, What You Won’t Do For Love (Why Not Theatre), Miracle on 34th Street, Red Velvet, Teenage Dick, No Child (Arts Club Theatre), Comedy of Errors, Measure for Measure, Henry V, Romeo and Juliet, Coriolanus (Bard On The Beach), The Mountaintop (Pacific Theatre), The Café (Aphotic Theatre/Itsazoo Production), Bad Parent (vAct/PTE/Soulpepper Theatre), China Doll (Gateway Theatre), and Pachinko (Apple TV). Jenny is excited and honoured to be part of this Mahabharata journey.
Victoria Wang – Assistant Stage Manager
Victoria is a Toronto based stage manager, producer, arts manager and yoga instructor who works in theatre, dance, film and interdisciplinary forms of live performance. She has worked with Native Earth, Why Not Theatre, Soulpepper Theatre, Cahoots, Aluna Theatre, Canadian Stage, Tarragon Theatre, the National Arts Centre, Segal Centre, SummerWorks, Buddies in Bad Times, Nuit Blanche and the Toronto International Film Festival. Victoria is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the National Theatre School of Canada. She is thrilled to be back with the Mahabharata team!
Daniel Bennett – Technical Director
Daniel is the Director of Production and Facilities for Canadian Stage. He has also worked as a Technical Director at the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario. Daniel has toured internationally with Prince Hamlet and Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre) and nationally with ROOM (Grand Theatre/Mirvish/Covent Garden Productions) and Fall on Your Knees (NAC/Canadian Stage/Grand Theatre/Neptune Theatre/Vita Brevis Productions). When he’s not in a theatre, Daniel can be found on a spin bike.
Maya Royer – Production Manager
Born and raised in Toronto, Maya has always been passionate about her city and its culture. She is grateful to be a member of the Toronto performing arts community, primarily as a production manager. Excited to see what the future holds, she appreciates every opportunity that gives her the chance to grow as both an artist and as a person. Maya holds a BFA from Toronto Metropolitan University, in Performance Production and Design.
Jadi Darawi – Assistant Production Manager & Production Stage Manager (Khana & Kahani)
Jadi Darawi (they/them) is a production manager and multi-disciplinary artist based in Toronto. They are currently in their last semester of the Performance Production Program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Their recent theatrical credits include Production Manager for Love and the Trick of Time, with Cahoots Theatre, Production Manager for I Do, I Don’t, I Dare, with Talk is Free Theatre, and Stage Manager for R.A.V.E. with Outside the March. In their spare time, Jadi enjoys carpentry, hand embroidery, and driving big trucks.
Matthew Mellinger – Head of Video & Video Operations
Matthew is very excited to be Video Engineer on Mahabharata, especially after supporting the production at Shaw Festival and Barbican. He has over 100 theatrical production credits spanning the globe. Select Broadway credits include: Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Anastasia, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, The Other Place, Baby It’s You!, and Bring It On:
The Musical. Matthew received a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts.
Brandon Wells – Head of Sound
Brandon has spent over a decade working with a multitude of artists and organizations in Toronto and beyond. Often employed as recording engineer, live sound engineer and livestream mixing engineer, Brandon has worked for Live from Koerner Hall, Soundstreams, Esprit Orchestra, Against the Grain Theatre, Pocket Concerts, Tapestry Opera, Canadian Stage Company, Why Not Theatre and numerous others. Brandon is a recording engineer at The Royal Conservatory of Music and holds degrees from McGill University and Humber College.
Chanti Laliberte – Head of Wardrobe
Chanti is a Toronto-based craftsperson and Head of Wardrobe with a BFA Honours from York University. A two-time nominee for the Pauline McGibbon award and co-owner of Awl Or Nothing Creative Inc, Chanti is also an administrator and advocate for their creative maker collective. Chanti has spent numerous seasons working on countless shows with the Blyth Festival, the Stratford Festival, and companies such as Canadian Stage, Obsidian Theatre Company, Buddies in Bad Times and Factory Theatre. Their work has been seen on stages throughout Ontario for over fifteen years.
Naomi Campbell – Producer
Naomi Campbell has over 35 years of programming, touring, and producing experience, both nationally and internationally. She was the originating producer for Nightswimming and Mammalian Diving Reflex, worked at festivals including World Stage, Rhubarb!, and Magnetic North Theatre Festival, and was Artistic Director of Luminato Festival Toronto from 2018 to 2023. Naomi teaches at Queen’s University, the National Theatre School, and University of Toronto Scarborough, and is currently involved in projects across the country, variously as producer, dramaturg, director, and consultant.
Rebecca Desmarais – Consulting Producer
Rebecca is an international tour producer for theatre and on-set teacher for film and television. She has produced and managed over 65 tours across 5 continents with award-winning shows, such as Why Not Theatre’s Prince Hamlet and 2b theatre company’s Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story. She has also worked with companies, such as Quote Unquote Collective, Fascinator Management, and TRIA Theatre. As an on-set teacher, Rebecca has worked on over 20 productions, such as HBO’s It: Welcome to Derry, Netflix’s Fubar, and Universal Studios’ The Black Phone 2.
Nika Jalali – Assistant Producer & Company Manager
Nika Jalali (she/her) is an Iranian-Canadian producer and multidisciplinary artist dedicated to amplifying racialized voices on international stages. She has collaborated on interdisciplinary projects in Canada, Italy, Scotland, the Czech Republic, and Germany. She was selected as the 2024 Metcalf Foundation Artistic Producing intern, under the mentorship of Nightwood Theatre, where she deepened her commitment to creating transformative, thought-provoking theatre that inspires change. Nika is grateful to work with talented collaborators on this momentous tour of Mahabharata, curating spaces and pushing boundaries for meaningful storytelling.
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Bluma Appel Theatre audience. Photo: Dahlia Katz
Founder and Co-Artistic Director
Ravi Jain
Co-Artistic Director
Miriam Fernandes
Executive Director
Karen Tisch
Director of Production and Technical
Crystal Lee
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Kevin Matthew Wong
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Special Thanks
Why Not Theatre would like to warmly thank:
Max Rosenfeld
Joyce Sou
Deborah Barrett & Jim Leech, Nadia Bello, Daniel Bennett, Kendalin Bishop, Tim Carroll, Coach House Books, Connor Copeland, Braydon Crawford, Jeff Cummings, Chris Dearlove, Tanya Doroslovac, Bradley Dunn, Monica Esteves, Robert Foster, Karen Fricker, Amiel Gladstone, Richard & Nancy Hamm, Brendan Healy, Tara Hitchman, Humble Raja, Tim Jennings, Kalamandalam Adhityan (Chenda), Kalamandalam Roopesh (Maddalam), Kalamandalam Abhijit Pillai (Thalam), Kalamandalam Mithun, Kalamandalam Abhijeet, Raj Kothari, Michel Lestréhan, David Lieberman, Owais Lightwala, Chris Lorway, Yvonne Lu Trinh, Heather McMartin, Laurie Merredew, Allen Moon, Vaishnavi Panwar, Devdutt Pattanaik, Andy & Valerie Pringle, Kelly Read, Josephine Ridge, Emma Satyamurti, Lynanne Sparrow, Lawrence Switzky, Shannon Tigert, Alana Wilcox, Meg Woods, Ruth-Anne Yiu, Madison Zinger and all the generous staff and crew at Canadian Stage and T.O. Live.
why not theatre supporters
Thank you to the following for their generous support of Mahabharata at Canadian Stage:
MAJOR PARTNERS
PARTNERS
Nancy & Richard Hamm Andrew & Valerie Pringle
MAHABHARATA CIRCLE
as of March 26, 2025
Upkar & Nita Arora
Deb Barrett & Jim Leech
Martha Burns & Paul Gross
Lindy Green & Sam Chaiton
Nancy & Richard Hamm
Ravi Jain & Sarena Parmar
Frances & Tim Price
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Sturla Alvsvaag
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Julia Foster, C M
Owais Lightwala
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Michael Trent
Double Your Impact!
Four generous donors created a matching fund for donations to Why Not Theatre between February 20 and May 24. Your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar, making it possible to continue touring the breathtaking and boundary-breaking Mahabharata around the world. You will also be providing international experience and mentorship to the emerging BIPOC artists and theatre professionals on our team.
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We are grateful to the following individuals who have very thoughtfully and generously remembered Canadian Stage in their estates.
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We have made every effort to ensure proper recognition. If, however, your name has been accidentally omitted, listed incorrectly, or misspelled, we apologize. Please notify us at donate@canadianstage.com with any corrections.
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Canadian Stage is grateful to the following donors for helping to make this Toronto premiere of Mahabharata possible:
Season Sponsor & Access Partner
Bluma Appel Season Underwriter
John & Nancy Embry
Production Underwriters
David W. Binet
Alexandra Baillie
An anonymous donor
The Opening Nights of Mahabharata are underwritten by: Nancy Jain
Thank you to the Mahabharata Committee for raising awareness and funds for the production:
Frances Mahil
Kulin Matchar
Anjli Patel
Daniel Pillai
Vandana Taxali
Supporting Donors
Parveen Dhupar
Kulin Matchhar
Manraj Pannu
Piali Roy and Andrew Simpson
Shraddha Kothari Walker
and Adrian Walker
Saneh Singh
Thanks to our 24.25 Season Sponsors and Funders
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Mahabharata,
by Miriam Fernandes & Ravi Jain
Contains the full text of the play along with materials opening up the behindthe-scenes world of the production, including interviews with the creators, background and context about the source material, production photographs, a Mahabharata family tree, and glossary.
Copies will be sold throughout the run at the Bluma Appel Theatre Ebook is also available for purchase.
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Fall On Your Knees (2024). Photo by Dahlia Katz