Chapter IV : Words of a Shared Past

Date : 15th August 2018

After months of collaboration between Readings in the Shed and The Writers Club at Director’s Cut Theatre Company, four short plays were developed to be read on the 15th of August 2018 to celebrate India’s Independence Day. Each story had words reminiscing a past that is not only important to the identity of India, but also for Britain. Here is a peek into the reading:

Playwrights : Phil Ball

Play : Leaving India

Synopsis: India and Britain, happen to meet years after their divorce. What begins with an awkward conversation leads to questions about their past relationship, ones that led to their divorce.

Playwright : GraceJ Maxted

Play: We Are Where We Are

Synopsis: Little did Tara know about her grandfather. Where was he born? Where did he come from? What was that part of his life which he spent in a far away country called India? After his passing, Tara and her mother go through his belongings just to find a few letters, and a long forgotten relationship.

Playwright : Julia Warren

Play: Independence Day

Synopsis: Barrington and Singh were friends. They fought in France together and had a love for the game of Chess. They wrote to each other during the years of the Jallianwala Baug massacre. What they wrote in ink turned to history as it was passed down from generation to generation and read. On 15th August 2018, an actor (Descendent of Barrington) and a professor (Descendent of Singh) meet, and discuss the quintessential question of Apology.

Playwright : Robert Connors

Play: Beyond boundaries

Synopsis : Ankit, Richard and Omar are playing a game of cricket. The game is beautifully poised and a win matters to every player. A dropped catch by Ankit leads to an on field war of words between him and the captain Richard, in which the batsman Omar also gets involved. The past histories of three countries is brought onto the field as the funny game of cricket goes on.

Performed by:

Jaimini Pathak
Gavin Noel Methalaka
Padma Damodaran
Rohit Mehra
Radhika Chopra
Akshat Nigam

Soundscape:

Keith Sequeira

Lights:

Shivansh

Shed:

Si Bambai

In collaboration with The Writer’s Club at Director’s Cut Theatre Company:

Trailer: