Previous Events

Storytellers bring alive the short stories of Rajendra Yadav, Ismat Chughtai and Patras Bokhari with characteristic brilliance. From a husband & father’s battle with the gnawing pangs of doubt & deceit, to a ‘touch-me-not’s’ fateful journey on a train, to the roller-coaster ride of friendship & betrayal, these eternal classics hit all the right notes. Enacted by Rajesh Kumar, Shashwita Sharma, and KC Shankar. For ages 13 & above.

If there was a way to live the words on a page, it would be through the age old medium of storytelling. Stage and screen actors, render the piquant observations of Manto, the fascinations of Rajinder Singh Bedi and the wry humor of Kamleshwar through solo performances of their short stories. Traverse the Arab gully of South Bombay to meet the dreaded Bhai, listen to a doting grandmother worry about the marriage of her granddaughter, and visit a Kafkaesque office which is all geared to make ‘Smart Citizens’. Performed by Om, Madhurjeet Sarghi and KC Shankar. For ages 13 & above.

Green Room merges performance and installation, where three women transform themselves from regular city-inhabitants to classical dancers. Offering an intimate peek behind the scenes, the green room is not merely witness to the transition, but also a metaphor for the myriad roles women adopt and discard while navigating life. In a clockwork through body and emotions, the performance guides you through the contrast between private space and the public personas played out on 'stage'. Audiences will be standing and walking through the space for the duration of the show. For ages 16 and above. Performers - Dali Basu, Sonali Mishra, Mohit Mukherjee & Manishikha Baul. Lighting Design - Tech Quartet. Visual Design - Simrat Duggal. Installation Design - Simrat Duggal, Ankit Pandey & Anuj Chopra. Script Writer - Samira Gupta. Peripheral Eye -Neel Chaudhuri

Learn how to create beautiful artworks using Urdu & Hindi script. Inspired by the ancient practice of Islamic Calligraphy, Qamar Dagar will be teaching participants basic usage of a Qalam (dried reed pen), types of strokes and interpreting the structure of letters pictorially. From the renowned family of dhrupad musicians, Qamar Dagar is a master practitioner of calligraphy and a recipient of the Nari Shakti Puraskar for her immense contribution to the field. Materials provided. For ages 12 & above.

Songbird Sessions #6 will feature Delhi based group, The Peter Cat Recording Co. (PCRC), purveyors of music and picture, from both past and future. You are invited to a particularly rare performance deep within a long forgotten jazz dream, shrouded in darkness and sound to witness one special night on earth. Supporting them is Vadodara-based visual artist and singer-songwriter, Shashwat Bulusu. Songbird Sessions is an intimate monthly concert series curated and produced by the folks at Pagal Haina in association with OddBird Theatre. The endeavour is simple, to put the focus firmly back on the artist and the performance. For ages 16 & above.

The tumultuous history of our city, told through powerful musical composition and visual design. Dastaan Live create a melting pot of projections, imagery, poetry, lights and an alt-rock sound to show its main protagonist - New Delhi - in a way seldom seen. Note: This is a standing gig with very limited seating. The location is Shed9 (the warehouse opposite OddBird Theatre). The Collaborators - (Music) - Anirban Ghosh, Sumant Balakrishnan, Nikhil Vasudevan, Sudheer Rikhari, Varun Gupta, Jagtinder Singh Sidhu, Subhanshu Singh, (Visuals) - Yashas Chandra, Anurag Jaitley, (Stage Design) - Vaibhavi Kowshik, (Production) - Muzammil, (Lights) - Tech Quartet (Ankit Pandey, Abhinav Khetarpal, Pranshu Shrimali, Anuj Chopra). For ages 16 & more.

This 6-day workshop uses clowning as a creative tool to understand the body, its movement and its unique language. Combining physical movement with mental exercises to channel difficult feelings constructively, participants will work on acceptance of their true self through the clown character they develop. The daily 5 hour sessions cover basic clowning skills such as drawing on latent emotions, discovering your own inner clown and improvisational techniques. Facilitated by Egypt-based clowning artists Stavros Kyrillos and Marwa Haiba. July 17th - 22nd, 11am - 4pm. For ages 16 & above.

In an engrossing solo performance, Jyoti Dogra employs body, voice, and text to weave a collage of stories, and explores the inherent humour in daily mundane conversations. The soundscape draws on influences like Tibetan throat singing and ancient Christian traditions of overtone singing. The resulting vignettes resonate with a universal sense of the ordinary and the eccentric, transcending culture and class. For ages 16 and above.

Facilitator Susan Dias (Director, Native Brews, Mumbai), will introduce participants to the basics of a home bar, including set up equipment, beverage and glass selection and finally mixology. This workshop will focus on summer ingredients and the perfect accompaniment - gin. With step by step instructions and live demonstration, participants will be shaking up a storm in no time. For ages 25 and above.

A collaboration between some of Delhi's best theatre practitioners, Contempt examines the Supreme Courts' hearings on Section 377, and its judgement which effectively re-criminalized the intimate lives of many. Based on a powerful script by Danish Sheikh, it manages to briefly pull one into the real and lived experiences of those affected by the ruling. Interleaved with actual courtroom exchanges, Contempt is a rare combination of strong narrative and engaging creative expression. Team: Guild of the Goat, Tadpole Repertory, Danish Sheikh, Oroon Das, Santana Issar, Deepa Dharmadhikari, OddBird Theatre & Foundation. For Ages 14 & Above.

A META Awardee for the Best Original Script in 2017, Dhumrapaan is comedy about the proverbial rat race, how we cope with it and the toll it takes on our throat and lungs. It is set in the smoking area of corporate building and follows the lives of a few employees as they agonise and exalt over appraisals, politics, and relationships. Featuring Kumud Mishra and Shubhrajyoti Barat with Abhishek Saha, Ghanshyam Lalsa, Sarthak Kakar and Siddharth Kumar. For ages 18 and above only.

A moving and funny family drama that sees the weight of history, of reputation, and of expectation, all descend on one family over a weekend. Originally written by English actor & playwright Andrew Keatley, and adapted to the Indian context by celebrated director Feisal Alkazi, The Gathered Leaves brings three generations of the family together in the same room after seventeen years. Everyone intent on putting the past behind them; if only it was that simple. For ages 16 & above. Featuring Yogesh Verma, Radhika Alkazi, Sanjiv Desai, Malini Kumar, Ashish Dhameja, Gayatri Rattan, Nandini Sra, Ritwik Bhagat, Angad Ohri, Anushka Mehra and Aditi Parashar. Stage Design: Jagan Shah. Lighting: Sunil Arora.