I WANT TO BUILD THIS BRIDGE
Rajesh Nirmal (New Delhi | Village Rampur Babuaan)
Schedule
European Premiere
Rajesh Nirmal wants to build a bridge – between his present and his past, between his life in the urban theatre environment and his rural origins: A bridge towards himself.
Through I WANT TO BUILD THIS BRIDGE, Rajesh Nirmal, brought up in humble circumstances in rural India, examines how his working caste lineage not only marks his self-conception as an artist, but as a human being, too. To do this, he embarks on a quest for a suppressed feeling of powerlessness – for the unacknowledged mentality of the oppressed.
On a stage covered by a white blanket that constantly changes form and function, this solo theatre play combines experiments with video mapping and sound. The performer’s body is at its centre. Here, stories and anecdotes from his life converge, interweaving with the histories of his country, his people, and his caste. The result shall be a new narrative that provides visibility not only to social contradictions and confusions, but also to those contradictions we carry within ourselves.
Biography
Rajesh Nirmal is an author and theatre director. In his works, he tackles sociopolitical topics in urban and rural spaces. His play MANY KINGS AND ONE QUEEN won the National Playwright Award, presented by the Korean Culture Centre. For his journalistic work that deals with the lives of women in rural parts of Uttar Pradesh, India, he won the Sanjoy Ghose Media Award in 2020. He lives in New Delhi, India.
Drishti Chawla is a performer, theatre artist, dancer, and math enthusiast based in Faridabad, India. Her practice draws upon her training in dance, and theatre keeping the distinctions between the two art forms blurry. Through her practice, she is working her way towards navigating personal/political queries surrounding gender, fluidity of gender, sexuality, and performance.
In her performances, installations, and curatorial works, Mallika Taneja deals with questions of gender, solidarity, and remembrance. She is especially interested in the political possibilities presented by a performative ensemble and the role that songs play in the leaving behind and in the collection of traces of people, places, and objects. She received the 2015 Acknowledgement Prize for BE CAREFUL and the ZKB Patronage Prize for ALLEGEDLY in 2021.
Mallika Taneja already guested at SPIELART with her 2017 work SORRY FOR THE INTERRUPTION and as a co-curator in 2021, when she was responsible for the REST OF THE STRUGGLE special programme. She lives and works in New Delhi, India.
Cast
Concept & Performance Rajesh Nirmal Mentor & Dramaturgy Mallika Taneja Music & Rehearsal Director Drishti Chawla Light Design Sangeet Shrivastava
Info
For the program NOTHING TO DECLARE we offer a day pass on 3. and 4.11. each:
03.11. 32€ / reduced 16€ (6 performances)
04.11. 24€ / reduced 12€ (4 performances)
Excluded is the production PLANTAGE DACHAU.
Accessibility
Production & Realization
Co-Production SPIELART Theatre Festival
