PRODUCTIONS IN THE 1980s

Amongst the productions in the decade 1980-1990 were:

TARTUFFE (NT), DANTON’S DEATH, GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR, THE BROKEN THIGH, 1919-AN INCIDENT, THE LITTLE CLAY CART, TEJO VANIO, CRAWL, BICHARO, THE PASSAGE, VILAYAT OR ENGLAND YOUR ENGLAND, INKALAAB 1919

Staged in the wake of the fatwa against Salman Rushdie, this adaptation of the Moliere classic by Jatinder Verma & Philip Cherbonnier. Directed by Jatinder, who became the first-ever director of colour to be invited to the National. The production was designed by Magdalen Rubalcava.

Cast included: Ayub Khan Din, Shelly King, Nizwar Karanj, Bhasker Patel, Yogesh Bhatt, Yasmin Sidha, Shehnaz Khan, V Chandran (musician)

Adapted and directed by Jatinder Verma from the Buchner.

In the wake of the fatwa against Salman Rushdie issued in February 1989, this story of the tussle between doubt and certainty during the French Revolution offers an apt metaphor.

Designed by Gaia Shaw, Cast included:

Shelly King, Shobu Kapoor, Murali Menon, Syreeta Kumar, Richard Santhiri, Nirjay Mahindru, Yasmin Sidhwa, V Chandran (musician)

Adapted by Jatinder Verma to a post-independence Indian town that remained enamoured with “blighty”, the production was directed by Anuradha Kapur of the National School of Drama, Delhi. Designed by Magdalen Rubalcava.

Cast: Nizwar Karanj, Yogesh Bhatt, Murali Menon, Yasmin Sidhwa, Bhavna Patel, Ravinder Gill, Ajay Chauhan, V Chandran (musician)

An adaptation of the earliest extant Sanskrit play, Bhasa’s Urubhangam, this was a re-telling of the ancient epic, The Mahabharata. Adapted & directed by Jatinder Verma. Design by Magdalen Rubalcava.

Cast included: Paul Bhattacharjee, Sudha Bhuchar, Kristine Landon-Smith, Arti Prashar, Shakuntala Ramanee, Balbir Bahi, Yogesh Bhatt, Rezaul Kabir, Shehnaz Khan

Based on a short story by Saadat Hassan Manto, this explored the Amritsar Massacre from the viewpoint of an Indian pimp. Written & directed by Jatinder Verma. Design by Magdalen Rubalcava.

Cast: Shehnaz Khan, Shakuntala Ramanee, Venu Dhupa

An adaptation of Sudraka’s 8th Century AD Sanskrit classic about a revolution against an overweening ruler. Staged during the Miner’s Strike of 1984-5.

Adapted & Directed by Jatinder Verma. Designed by Anee Hubbard. Choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh

Cast included: Ayub Khan Din, Nizwar Karanj, Sudha Bhuchar, Naushaba Shaheen Khan, Yogesh Bhatt, Rezaul Kabir, Bhasker Patel, Mala Sikha

An adaptation of a play in the popular Gujarati theatre form of Bhavai. Adapted & Directed by Jatinder Verma.

Cast included: Yogesh Bhatt, Arti Prashar, Rezaul Kabir, Balbir Bahi, Shakuntala Ramanee

A play by Jatinder Verma based on the infamous “crawling” order issued by British colonial administrators in Amritsar, following the massacre in Jallianwala Bagh. The order forced Indian men to drop their dhotis and crawl along the pavement where an English missionary was alleged to have been assaulted.

Designed by Magdalen Rubalcava, Cast:

Arti Prashar, Balbir Bahi, Shehnaz Khan, Dominic Rai

An adaptation of another play from the Bhavai repertoire, Bicharo (“poor dear”) considered the fate of an impoverished young man. Directed by Jatinder Verma. Design by Gaia Shaw, Cast included:

Nizwar Karaj, Paul Bhattacharjee, Shehnaz Khan, Yogesh Bhatt, Rezaul Kabir

The product of a residency at Loughborough University, this play charted a migrant’s journey to Loughborough and its effect on the family. Written & directed by Jatinder Verma.

Cast: Sudha Bhuchar, Naushaba Shaheen Khan, Yogesh Bhatt, Naim Khan

The fate of an Asian Tory politician is explored in this play written & directed by Jatinder Verma.

Cast included: Paul Bhattacharjee, Naushaba Shaheen Khan, Sudha Bhuchar, Suman Bhuchar, Rekha Prashar, Anjali Sharma, Naim Khan

The Amritsar Massacre of 1919 – when over 1,000 Indians were shot to death in Jallianwala Bagh (a public park) – sparked the decades-long fight for Indian independence. Written & directed by Jatinder Verma.

Cast included: Paul Bhattacharjee, Naushaba Shaheen Khan, Praveen Bahl, Suman Bhuchar, Ovais Kadri, Yogesh Bhatt, Bahaudeen Latif, Renu Sethi, Rekha Prashar, Jatinder Verma