I was just nearing my second year of University, and I needed some kind of project, something more than what I had been doing, and in the field of arts I had claimed to have an interest in for a long time: film, performance art, and theatre. It would be an understatement to say I was pleased to be given the opportunity by the Edinburgh University Theatre Company to put on Evam Indrajit by Badal Sircar for the first time in the UK. I would be the director. I was overwhelmed, and extremely nervous.
 

I had experience with theatre, but had never before taken on the responsibility of putting on an entire production. I sourced costumes from my place of birth and one of my many hometowns, Kolkata, where the play is set, and spent the time before the summer production for casting. Bedlam Theatre is a wonderful venue, with a community of creative thespians who are as critical as they are encouraging. It was unusual for them to choose a piece of writing never before seen, by a South Asian writer. That put even more responsibility on me. I needed to make sure that this would be a success.

​

I, of course, have to thank my entire technical team for putting up with my ideas and making them come to life, as well as production for handling my several breakdowns. And finally, I would like to thank my cast, for dealing with very challenging material and ensuring that it reached the audience in the way that I envisioned. We also bought a tree for this production, which I named Immortality. The poster art above and below (made by me) links to the Bedlam Theatre website with a description of the production. 

​

The play itself is a long, unedited, absurdist piece of theatre with no clear cut scenes. It explores the search for purpose through the non-conformist character of Indrajit, who sees life as long and cyclical, and struggles to find meaning, or love.