South Asian Theatre with Universal Appeal

The Kingdom of Cards

Palo Alto, Oct. 11-13, 2019

Produced and Presented by: EnActe Arts

Written By:

Rabindranath Tagore

English Adaptation by:

William Radice

Director: Ranjita Chakravarty

Music Director: Siddhartha Chattopadhyay

Costume Design: Keya Chatterjee

Costume Managers: Keya Chatterjee, Madhubala Jaggi, Namita Vakil

Makeup and Hair:Gayatri Joshi

Set Design: Ranjita Chakravarty

Set and Prop Managers: Ashish Chakrabortty, Keya Chatterjee, Adwait Joshi, Juhi Mohan

Choreography: Sanjib Bhattacharya

Projections: Spenser Matubang

Sound Design: Shraddha Suman

Lighting Assistant: Vikram Ramanarayanan

Stage Manager: Mughda Kulkarni and Adwait Joshi

Backstage: Vanani Vasundhara

Cast:

Varun Arvind, Anuj Bhargava, Ekta Brahmkshatri, Ashish Chakrabortty, Alisha Chakravarty, Suruchi Chandorkar, Mekhala Chatterjee, Roshni Datta, Sejal Desai, Stefan Fisher, Chaitanya Godsay, Abhi Karki, Juhi Mohan, Tannishtha Mukherjee, Anju Prakash, Geeta Rai, Sadhana Rajan, Havish Ravipati, Shekhar Sakhalkar, Vinita Sud Belani

Written in 1937 as a parody of fascism, Rabindranath Tagore’s poetic fantasy examines a kingdom of two-dimensional playing cards strictly regulated by the cold rule of conformity. Enter a young prince whose thirst for adventure provides them with the elixir for freedom and self-worth.

Sponsored by: Palo Alto Networks, Jupiter Research Foundation, Nutanix, Bahwan Cybertek, Accenture, Sunera Technologies, Xoriant, Multicoreware, Shasta Foods, Lasya Art, Mantra India, Chaat Bhavan, Institute for South Asia Studies UC Berkeley, Radio DeHottie Media Mahima

The Kingdom of Cards by Rabindranath Tagore, written in 1937, parodies the fascist atmosphere that hypnotized Europe and explores human responses to radical change. Desperate for adventure, a prince decides to set out for parts unknown and ends up somewhere else: a nation filled with
walking, talking cards, all dead to the world and insistent on adhering to their many rules and laws. These rules almost immediately start to fall apart under the prince’s skeptical scrutiny, and soon, the Cards are dressing like humans, dancing and singing, and even falling in love while their whole world changes around them.