A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR, ARGHYA LAHIRI

“ … change! The sand trickles. The water fills the pot. And the moon goes on swinging, swinging, swinging from light to darkness to light.”

-Girish Karnad, Hayavadana

It’s always too easy – in the theatre, particularly – to ascribe metaphor to a set of events, to read too much into it, to go looking for signs for serendipity. Sometimes, though, you feel like something larger is at work. A sense of things falling into place that cannot quite be ignored.

This reading came together with some species of strange magic. A collaboration between Rage and the Lyric, mooted at a literature festival in North India, casually shunted aside by a pandemic A year later, Jimmy Fay and Shernaz Patel attempted to find common ground, a way to move forward while most of us were trapped at home, while theatres lay dark and empty. I got a phone call and I wouldn’t have even been in Mumbai to receive the call if the UK hadn’t gone into its third lockdown.

We thought we’d meet Online On Zoom Read Translations – a major, legendary work by one of the world’s great dramatists. We thought we’d speak of the politics of language, of power, and of colonisation.

What we didn’t expect was the resonance across continents. Two ancient cultures, riven by doubt, invaded, tortured, still grappling with identity. Of a rough, knowing humour that survivors possess Of ideas torn apart by religion, and by lines on a map, and by the people drawing those lines.

What we didn’t expect was how the language would unfurl – vital, alive, dancing off the tongue. We knew it was a brilliant play. But none of us thought it could sing like this. And in retrospect, it seems inevitable That is the greatness of Mr Friel That’s just the genius of the text and the warmth, the all-encompassing humanity, of the man

At this very moment, in the world, in our collective lives, there is something surreal and very correct about this reading occurring on Zoom. Because it allows us to close our eyes and listen.

The words are the magic This cast – so generous with their time and their talent – are the magicians.

It has been a pleasure to hear them. That is all I have done. I hope it’s the same for you.

I wish we’d had more time to just chat I wish we’d had more time to rehearse Baile Beag isn’t real. Of course it’s real.

“Inside each word, inside each word, there are shadows of words: memory, smell, colour.”

-James Joyce

Tavish is an actor, director and voice over artist based in Mumbai, India.

Over the last 14 years, he has acted in over 50 productions including some of India’s largest stage shows

His notable theatre credits include: Beauty And The Beast (Disney India), Sing India Sing (Aadyam), Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men (Aadyam), Matt Cameron’s Ruby Moon (Peas & Carrots Theatre Company), Melissa James Gibson’s [sic] (Dramanon Bangalore), Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor (Dramanon Hyderabad) Dario Fo’s Cant Pay? Won’t Pay! (Dramanon Hyderabad), Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker (Samahaara).

He has also acted in numerous TV commercials and short films.

Ruby trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She thanks the Lyric and Rage Theatre for the opportunity to explore Friel’s magical text with this wonderful international team

Lyric Theatre credits: Driving Home for Christmas, Alice the Musical, Lovers: Winners and Losers, Rough Girls – workshop

Other theatre includes: The Broads (Strand Arts), Dirty Talk (No Touching Theatre), Tragik Plastik, The Clearing – workshop (Tinderbox Theatre Company) And The Band Keeps Marching On (Sky Arts/Barbican) Splish Splash (Oily Cart), The Ferryman (Sonia Friedman Productions/Gielgud Theatre), She Moved Through The Fair (Tron Theatre), Girls and Dolls (Pintsized Productions), Babble, Lifeboat (Replay Theatre Company) Lady Windermere's Fan (MAC/Bruiser Theatre Company)

Film and Television credits: Stumbling (Doreen Productions), Counsel (BBC), The Dissenter (Dumbworld Productions)

Thomas trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Whilst there he performed with the Richard Burton company in You Can’t Take it with You and VS09.

Since graduating he has performed across all medium. His radio credits include The Fewness of his Words, Locked Down and David Ireland’s Not Now To name but a few

He Has appeared on TV in Game of Thrones, Line Of Duty, Ups and Downs and The Windermere Children

On stage he has worked extensively with the Lyric Theatre Belfast appearing in Blackout, Here Comes the Night, Lovers: Winners and Losers and he starred in the Lyric theatre/Prime-Cut coproduction of RED, where he was nominated for best supporting actor at the Irish Times Theatre Awards.

Hugh

Over four decades in the performing arts, Akash Khurana has directed and acted in plays by Pinter, Mamet, Mrozek, Kundera, Friel, Tendulkar, Shakespeare, Shaw, and Beckett.

He has been a core member of Arpana, Motley, and Akvarious Productions, three of India’s foremost theatre companies.

His production of Vijay Tendulkar’s A Friend’s Story, was performed at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London

He was Managing Editor of the theatre journal OVATION, and was the Artistic Advisor to the NCPA Repertory Theatre He was also part of the think tank that helped Jennifer Kapoor launch the Prithvi Theatre Festival. He has been a jury member for the Aditya Birla Kala Puraskars (2020) and the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (2019). He is an award winning actor (The Nandi) and screenwriter (Filmfare), and has acted in nearly 60 films and 15 Television series, and scripted more than 20 films and 200 Television episodes. As an avid musician, he has played the drums and the piano, and is a composer and lyricist

Born in County Donegal. Currently Living in Belfast. Graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2013.

New Speak (Lyric Theatre) Mid Summer Nights Dream (Terra Nova) The Real Housewives of Born Iron (Red Brick Road) I Shall Wear Purple (C21) Colleen Bawn (Lyric Theatre) Sinners (Lyric Theatre) Three Sisters (Lyric Theatre) Blackout (Lyric Theatre) What We Are Made Of (TinderBox), After The End (Pintsize NI) Under The Hawthorn Tree (Cahoots NI) The Tempest (Terra Nova) Blinkered (Sole Purpose) Frank Pig Says Hello (An Grianan Productions)

Importance of Being Ernest (Wilde Festival) Lover’s: Winner and Losers (Friel Festival) Film &TV: The Crown (Netflix), Lost City of Z (Plan B) Still Waters (Carnaby Productions) Soft Border Patrol (BBC NI) Spotlight (BBC NI) Web series: Heads & Tails (Red Hen) BBC Tight Shorts (Viral)

Frankie McCafferty has been a freelance actor in theatre, film, television and radio for more than thirty years. He is from Donegal and studied humanities at University College Galway in the Republic of Ireland. He made his professional debut with Druid Theatre and has since worked extensively throughout Ireland and Britain and toured internationally He performed in the premier productions of plays such as At the Black Pig’s Dyke by Vincent Woods and Fire Below by Owen McCafferty, as well as in established works such as Endgame, Friel’s Molly Sweeney and Frank McGuiness’ Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (Irish Theatre best supporting actor award) at the Lyric. An extensive career in film and TV includes roles in Philomena, Angela’s Ashes, Ballykissangel, In the Name of the Father and Vikings. He trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris.

Manus

Seamus is a graduate of Queen’s University, Belfast Immediately after graduating he was cast in BBC NI’s drama 6 Degrees, playing Gary Meadows for three seasons.

Screen credits: Stranger With A Camera for Fizzblister Films, Game of Thrones for HBO, My Mother and Other Strangers for BBC/PBS, Agatha and the Truth of Murder (Darlow Smithson Productions) and Mandrake (Village Films).

Seamus has worked consistently with NI Screen in various critically acclaimed short films including Dinosaurs, The Captors (Six Mill Hill Productions), Dust (Northern Ireland Screen), An Irish Goodbye (Goldfinch UK/Floodlight Pictures) and with Oscarwinning filmmaker Oorlagh

George on Off Sides Seamus most recently filmed feature The Northman directed by Robert Eggers for New Regency e ika is a certified Fitzma ework® Teacher and h M.A. from Goldsmiths ege, University of Lond is the founder/creative ctor at Actors Ensemble India Forum, Bangalore - a practice-led arts research company. She has taught at National School of Drama, NINASAM and University of Hyderabad (India), and at LASALLE, ITI and NAFA (Singapore) With over two decades of experience as performer/educator/actor trainer, she has developed Vachika – a uniquely Indian take on voice training for the contemporary performer

Productions/Focus Features. Stage credits include the role of Manus in the National Theatre’s Translations, directed by Ian Rickson, the role of Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire, Seamus Heaney’s Station Island and Patrick Kavanagh’s The Great Hunger, all for the Lyric Belfast, and Owen McCafferty’s Mojo Mickybo for Bedlam Theatre.

She made her debut in Girish Karnad’s Kanooru Heggadathi (winner National Award for Best Film – 1999). She played the title role in ‘Devi’ Ahilya Bai (Hindi) directed by Nachiket Patwardhan (2002) and most recently she acted in Anurag Kashyap’s yet-to-be-released Hindi feature film – Ghanghor Connection (March 2020). She won the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards for directing Translations (2006). Hidden in Plain Sight – Version 2 0 - an online performance is her most recent work

Abhishek has been working in Mumbai theatre for over 16 years. He has worked with numerous directors such as Pt. Satyadev Dubey, Quasar Padamsee, Arghya Lahiri, Pushan Kripalani, Akarsh Khurana, Faezeh Jalali, Chandan Roy Sanyal to name a few. He has performed in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Bengaluru & Chennai. His last stage appearances were in The Kite Runner (AKVarious Productions) and A Farming Story (FATS Arts) He is currently working in A Small Family Business (a collaboration between Akvarious and the National Centre for the Performing Arts)

Besides theatre, Abhishek also directs children for school productions and is a regular at Riverside school (Ahmedabad) and Hasanat High School (Mumbai).

His last screen credit was in the feature film Katti Batti directed by Nikhil Advani (2015). He has appeared in numerous TV Commercials for brands like Pepperfry, Skoda, Castrol, Avil and Tata Loans.

Mallika Singh

Sarah

Born and based in Mumbai, India. Studied at Tridha, A Waldorf school based on Steiner curriculum, affiliated with the CIE, UK.

Theatre includes : Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of An Author, Rhinoceros, What's done is done, Hamlet the Clown Prince (Prithvi Theatre), Ishq Aaha (NCPA), Detective Nau-Do-Gyarah (Aadyam Festival, The Royal Opera House, Kamani Auditorium, 'The Hindu' Theatre Festival), Do You Want Me To Stay For Anything In Particular - a concert by Mitsuaki Matsumoto and Lullaby Stranger (G5A)

Co-curated Theatre film Theatre, A Festival of Short films and a Technical Director for 'O Gaanewali', a virtual concert about the Tawaifs of India (Harkat Studios, British Council and Goethe Institute)

TV : Made-in-Heaven (Amazon Prime Video), A Suitable Boy (Netflix)

Film : Best Friends Forever, won the 63rd National Award - Best Film on Family Welfare, Gully Boy (Netflix) Won thirteen Awards at the 65th Filmfare Awards and three IIFA Awards 2020 hya Lahiri is a director, ing designer, writer and maker who works out of mbai, India He graduated an MA in Film and TV duction from the University ristol. He is a founder mber of QTP, and helps run spo – a Theatre Group th Festival, now in it’s 23rd .

His directorial credits: The Birthday Party, Crab (part of Writer’s Bloc II) and Wildtrack (which he also wrote) for QTP; Creado, Constance, No-body (One on One I and II) and Iron for Rage; and The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Fireface (with Pushan Kripalani, The Industrial Theatre Co ), a reading of Ramu Ramanathan’s The Three Ladies of Ibsen, and Hayavadana (also with Pushan Kripalani, Blackboxers)

He has also lit over a hundred productions, as well as live events and festivals.

He’ll work in any capacity he can get away with.

Rachit Khetan Show Runner

Rachit is a technical manager, lighting operator and production manager from India and has worked on numerous productions and live events for the past 10 years. He currently works with QTP, a Bombaybased arts and theatre management company and the most recent productions he has managed include Khatija Bai of Karmali Terrace, A Peasant of El Salvador, Every Brilliant Thing. He also led Thespo (a youth theatre movement) in 2017 & 2018 and since then has been an integral part of the team as a mentor.

In the last year, he has been the technical manager on the digital editions of QTP’s Every Brilliant Thing and Lunch Girls; as well as two digital festivals - Tata Literature Live! and Thespo 22 (2020 edition)

Inspired by performance, entertainment and technology, Rachit enjoys experimenting with and exploring these in his day-to-day work.