Jean-Claude Carrière New Works Festival - 2024
#CHARLOTTESVILLE - SEPTEMBER 13
#CHARLOTTESVILLE chronicles the tragic events of August 11th and 12th, 2017, when white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia for the “Unite the Right” rally on the pretext of expressing outrage against the removal of the confederate monument of Robert E. Lee, leading to a violent clash with counter-protesters. Constructed verbatim from interviews with over a hundred local residents, court transcripts, and news reports, the play presents a deeply personal exploration of how the crisis affected the community and how they continue to grapple with the aftermath. Through the voices of its interviewees, #CHARLOTTESVILLE explores themes of community, resilience, and the struggle to move forward in the face of adversity. The play closely examines the deep-seated racial inequities that have long existed in Charlottesville and how they contributed to one of the most horrific manifestations of racial violence in America.
American Hunger - SEPTEMBER 14
In “American Hunger” by Nikhil Mahapatra, two Asian restaurants vie for culinary dominance in their rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Crown Heights, while their children begin to question the choices that will make – or break – their prospects as a continuation of the ambitions of their immigrant parents. A multi-disciplinary writer based in Brooklyn, their work has been showcased at Living Room Playlabs, Gingold Theatre Company, The Tank, Cherry Lane Theatre, The Brick, The Wild Project and more. Latest theatrical works include “Sweetfish!,” “Carnal,” “Lost in the Fire,” The Fields,” and Bali Babes.”
A Muslim in the Midst - SEPTEMBER 14
A Muslim in the Midst is an intense play that unravels the inherent contradictions and universal conflicts of our time. A chance encounter between two couples turns an act of kindness into a dark journey, fueled by media, into each other’s prejudice, guilt, fear and ignorance. ‘A Muslim in the Midst’ was performed at New York’s Hudson Guild Theatre in 2016 and has since been produced at Yale University, the South Asian Theatre Festival 2017, and the Actor’s Fund Theatre in Brooklyn, NY. In 2019, the play was successfully produced in 6 different theatres in Bangalore, India. The play was a finalist for the best play award at the NY Summerfest 2018, and at the 2020 ScreenCraft Stage play contest.
Sonam Kalra - SEPTEMBER 15
Sarhad – Partition: Stories of Separation is an experiential performance using music, theater, video and design to retell the stories of separation from the Partition of India in 1947.
Seventy-seven years after the Partition shook the Indian subcontinent, Sonam explores what the event meant to those who lived through it and survived to tell its tales. She hopes that this will help us empathize, ponder on and realize the way forward from this great trauma – hopefully, a way of peace and coexistence based on a shared grief, a shared loss, a shared history and a shared love.
