Play based on a story by Yuki Ellias
Script: Sneh Sapru

Conceived, Directed and Performed by Yuki Ellias 
A Dur Se Brothers Production

A quirky and modern reinterpretation of the story of Lord Ganapati

Chief Guest: Smt Rami Chhabra

Elephant in the Room
Master Tusk is a young boy, who has been given a new head ‐ an elephant's head. Confused and bewildered, he finds himself lost in the forest. Danger lurks at every turn. He encounters a motley couple - Makadi (spider) and Moork (poacher), a clumsy duo in search of a big‐ticket ransom. They kidnap Master Tusk, but their scheme goes awry when a prophecy is revealed and changes everything. Amidst a cursed love affair, an encounter with an eccentric old elephant and a hunt for a missing head, Master Tusk sets off on an adventure that changes his life. But will he be able to carry his head on his shoulders? Inspired by the world of Indian mythology, Elephant in the Room plays homage to the beloved God, Lord Ganapati, in this quirky and poignant reinterpretation of his story.

Recipient of three Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards – Lead Actor (Female); Light Design; and Costume Design 

Credits:

Story by Yuki Ellias 
Script by Sneh Sapru
Conceived, Directed & Performed by Yuki Ellias 
Costumes & Set Designed by Sumaiya Merchant
Lights Designed & Operated by Asmit Pathare
Sound Design by Seemingly That (Adriel George & Pruthu Parab)
    Sound Operated by Yael Crishna / Priyanka Babbar 
Executive Producer ‐ Niloufer Sagar
Live Show Photos by C. Ganesan / Rafeeq Ellias / Viraj Singh 

A Dur Se Brothers Production
Originally commissioned by The Prakriti Foundation for The Park New Festival 2016

About Yuki Ellias

Yuki is an actor, teacher, movement director and filmmaker. She studied theatre at the Jaques Lecoq International School for Theatre in Paris, and London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA). Yuki conducts training to various groups and practising actors in the creation of site-­‐specific devised interventions, corporates, and highly specific workshops for theatre professionals. Yuki worked as an actress in Tim Supple’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream touring for three years with the show to the UK, US, Canada, Australia and Italy. She has performed with various theatre companies in Mumbai including The Company Theatre, The Industrial Theatre Company and Q Theatre Productions. As a Movement Director she has worked with UK’s leading opera company, Opera North, on their 2007 production of Mozart’s Magic Flute. Yuki is a founding member of the innovative production company Dur Se Brothers, which has produced the successful shows Charge! and Yatagarasu.

PHYSICAL / WEBCAST  PROGRAMME

Choreographic work in Bharatanatyam presented by Vaibhav Arekar and artists of Sankhya Dance Company from Mumbai

Artists: Sushant Jadhav; Eesha Pinglay; Mrinal Joshi; Radhika Karandikar; Shruti Ranade; Anagha Harkare; Gautam Marathe; and Sachhidanand Narayankar  

Chief Guest: Shri N.N. Vohra, President, IIC

SHIVA….Facets of HIM

Sankhya Dance Company presents Shiva…Facets of HIM

Multiple choreographies woven together, Shiva interprets the male and female entities in the universe within the all-encompassing Shiva.

Shiva is nirguna-niraakara—or formless—but for mortals, he is perceived as saguna-saakaar—one with a form.

He is worshipped as   Ardhanarishvara (the form of Shiva–Parvati) and Hari-Hara (combined in the form of Shiva–Vishnu). HE is the only god who merges his identity into the concept of dual-principle godhead.

Shiva’s consort is the supreme untameable, universal energy, Shakti. Durga, the most splendid manifestation of Devi, has within her the power of all gods.

Nataraj—the cosmic dancer—represents the constant bio-dance of life-creation, sustenance and dissolution.

Presenting SHIVA—The Facets of Him

Vaibhav Arekar

Sankhya Dance Company, one of the leading dance companies from western India, was founded by Shri Vaibhav Arekar in 2009.  Sankhya’s forte is Bharatanatyam, and came as a natural extension of Vaibhav’s artistic vision to have a company of dancers who engage and invest purely in dance performances. He is one of the leading male Bharatanatyam soloists of India, and has trained under virtuoso teachers Smt. Saroja Srinath, Smt. Tangamani Nagarajan, and his mentor Dr. Smt. Kanak Rele. Vaibhav has done his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya, where he also taught for 15 years. He was instrumental in designing the diploma and degree syllabi for Bharatanatyam for SNDT University, Mumbai. 

His collaborative work in the genre of theatre–dance has created some milestone productions. His presentations Shreemant yogi premiered in 2017; Naama mhane—an awakening premiered in 2016; and Trayyanta (solo and group) premiered in August 2014 have received high critical acclaim and are regarded as model thematic works in Bharatanatyam. Vaibhav’s solo works have seen over 25 performances. They include:  Venugaan (2021); Debotar Grash, a work based on Tagore’s poem (2012); and Narmade Har Har, in praise of river Narmada (2009). He has performed as a soloist in India and abroad, and impressions and experiences from dance performances across the world, along with his creative impulse, have influenced Vaibhav’s performance and choreography. An intense, calm and immersive approach is his signature style.

The IIC Experience: A Festival of the Arts

22^nd to 26^th October 2021

Click here for detailed programme

Click here for food festival details

An Evening of Poetry
With poets - Tithi Dani (Reading, UK); Rupam Mishra (Pratapgarh); Ruchi Bhalla (Phaltan); and Naazish Ansari (Lucknow) who will read from their original work

Moderator: Ashok Vajpeyi

(Collaboration: The Raza Foundation)

The programme can be accessed on:
facebookLive@razafoundation
YouTube@The Raza Foundation
 

(91 min; 1962; b/w; Russian with English subtitles)
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky

Recipient of the Golden Gate Award for Best Director, San Francisco International Film Festival 1962; and Golden Lion, Venice Film Festival 1962

The debut feature by the great Andrei Tarkovsky, Ivan’s Childhood is a poetic journey through the shards and shadows of one boy’s war-ravaged youth. Moving back and forth between the traumatic realities of World War II and serene moments of family life before the conflict began, Tarkovsky’s film remains one of the most jarring and unforgettable depictions of the impact of war on children.

A four – part series. Historian Michael Wood travels the globe seeking evidence of four of the world's most famous myths. He begins his quest in Jerusalem, travelling to Egypt and Africa as he hunts for evidence of the fabled Queen of Sheba. His search for the lost kingdom of Shangri-La takes him through India, Nepal and Tibet. He roams the Celtic world from Cornwall to Wales, Ireland and Scotland in search of the legendary King Arthur. And finally, he heads to Greece, Turkey and Georgia as he tracks the legend of Jason and the Golden Fleece.

Episode 4: Jason and the Golden Fleece | ( Click here to watch )
(60 min; 2005; English)

The tale of Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece is one of the oldest stories in all of Greek myth. In this episode, Michael Wood traces the route of Jason and his famous boat, the Argo, along its route from Greece to Turkey and Georgia. The story of Jason can be traced back to the town of Volos in modern day Greece. The probable site of ancient Lolkos, it was here that King Pelias feared Jason a contender to this throne and so sent him on an impossible mission to finish him off. The mission was to travel to the far away kingdom of Colchis — in the Black Sea — to retrieve the magical Golden Fleece that had been taken there. But Jason proved courageous and strong and set out on an epic route.

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary | ( Click here to watch )
(99 min; 2016; English)
Director: John Scheinfeld

The music of John Coltrane is the real star of Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary. What makes Chasing Trane special is that music, and the insight it provides into Coltrane’s life. Denzel Washington stands-in for Coltrane’s voice, narrating the film with the saxophonist’s own words, and Washington is superb in his own understated way. 

Chasing Trane follows Coltrane through his whole life. We witness his humble beginnings playing not-very-good sax in a military band, and then learn of his obsessive devotion to practicing. Day and night the musician would practice, and when neighbours would complain about the sound he would silently finger the instrument, over and over again.  

A definitive documentary about an outside-the-box thinker with extraordinary talent whose boundary-shattering music continues to impact and influence people around the world.