May 22 2025 to May 22 2025 7 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Equus derived from the Latin word for ‘Horse’ is a psychological drama that delves deep into the mind’s primal corners. Written in 1973, the English “whydunit”, inspired by a real-life incident, unravels the mystery behind a shocking act of violence; “Seventeen-year-old, Alan Strang, blinds four horses with a metal spike, in a single night”.
The story follows Martin Dysart, a child psychiatrist, who begins treating Alan, only to find himself grappling with his inner turmoil. As the investigation unfolds, Dysart brings to light, Alan’s religious, emotional, and sexual obsession for horses, which leads him to confront unsettling truths about the nature of normalcy, worship, and desire. Consumed by envy of Alan’s raw, unfiltered passion, he is forced to confront the suffocating monotony of his own life.
Playhouse re-imagines the classic through Jung’s lens of ‘Shadow Self’, and makes use of the evocative power of shadow theatre to throw light on the darkness that remains hidden. Alan’s intense passion and obsession with horses becomes a powerful metaphor for humanity’s most profound extremes—what we suppress, what we idolize, and what ultimately defines our very existence.

Crafted by Peter Shaffer

Supported by:

Performers

Sukrit Mahajan
Theatre Practitioner & Actor
Hailing from the Capital, Sukrit Mahajan is a theatre practitioner and a camera actor, currently based in Mumbai. Formerly a production engineering and research analyst, Sukrit shifted gears and turned to the arts post the pandemic and underwent a yearlong training in ‘Theatre Making’ from Drama School Mumbai (DSM), after which he shifted base to Mumbai. With over 8 years of experience spanning Direction to Production and Acting to Lighting, Sukrit has integrally worked in 25+ theatre plays and has travelled the country with his shows. Most recently, Sukrit directed a rehearsed reading of M-Butterfly by David Henry Hwang for Bhasha Center’s ‘Hear, Here’ programme. He has also closely worked as an actor with Sunit Tandon, Maneesh Verma, Akhshay Gandhi and many more.

In 2024, Sukrit began his theatre company – Playhouse Productions, which also currently runs ‘Garam Roti’, for which he acts as the Executive Producer.

Meghna Manglani
Actor
Meghna Manglani, an accomplished Drama School Mumbai graduate, blends acting prowess with a passion for movement. She views art as a catalyst for vital dialogues, striving to intertwine self-exploration and societal commentary in her creative journey across theatre and screen.

Durga Venkatesan
Theatre Artist, Actor, Director & Producer
Durga Venkatesan is a 27 year old theatre artist, actor, director and producer experimenting on stage, screen and canvas. Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (1998), she attended Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi University. She has been actively involved in theatre since college. She co-founded Project Kancha, a community theatre and social impact initiative. She has performed across India and at prestigious festivals like META, India Habitat Theatre Festival & Windermere Theatre Festival (Bareily). She also works in the corporate theatre, managing and running shows.

Apart from Co-founding Playhouse Productions, she performs her solo pieces ‘Touchy Topic & ‘Garam Roti’ which were selected to be performed at Jairangam Fringe Festival (Bengaluru) & Thespo 2024 respectively.

Zohra Mithani
Actor, Writer & Director
With over 5+ years of experience in the field of theatre arts, Zohra started her journey as an actor and has performed in over 15+ productions. She gained her Master’s in Theatre arts and stagecraft from the Academy of Theatre Arts (UOM) in 2023. She has written-directed 3 productions under her banner ‘Kanyaa aur Kahaniyaa’.

Arjun Kachroo
Actor
An exponent of method acting, he has starred in many short films and plays, often portraying great tragic heroes like Oedipus and Romeo. Noted for The Trial (2023) on Disney+ Hotstar. Trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Fontainebleau School of Acting and Prague Film School.

Varad Vishwas Salvekar
Theatre Artist
Varad has been a theatre artist for over 10 years. He played ‘sadashiv’ in Nipun Dharmadhikari’s Mee Vasantrao. He has been a part of Anandowari (Directed by Gerish Khemani), Mahanirwan (Directed by Satish Alekar) and Panchatantra (Trimala and Piazza)

Ankita Podder
Actor & Intimacy Coordinator
Ankita Podder is an actor and an intimacy coordinator. She budded as a young actor in Calcutta, found her voice in this craft while studying at Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University, and is now pursuing her journey in theatre and films in Mumbai. She has been growing through workshops and rigorously training wherever she finds teachers and knowledge. Some of Ankita’s work include Vikram Phukan’s InQueerable ; Young, Scrappy and Hungry, a self-written piece about navigating adulthood and nostalgia while being in a volatile affair with the city of Bombay, performed at Thespo 2023. She has also done plays like Revolt directed by Neha Vyas and Vrittant directed by Priyanka Charan. Ankita has worked with and learnt from Sunil Shanbagh, Atul Kumar (The Company Theatre) , Neel Chaudhuri (The Tadpole Repertory), Rupesh Tillu (Clowning). She has been training in long form improv, contact and non- contact improv, and movement. Ankita enjoys being a part of cinema, wants to always be in the theatre, and to tell stories with brave narratives. She also has a Diploma in Film from Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai.

Tushant Mattas
Actor & Writer
Tushant is an actor-writer based in Bombay. He graduated as a dentist from Jammu University before shifting to Delhi to pursue his passion for storytelling through theatre. In Delhi, he worked with Bela Theatre Karwaan for four years, acting in various productions like Men Without Shadows, Toba Tek Singh, Daayan etc. He also designed lights for Laxmi Rawat’s directorial Chal Ab Laut Chalein & Amol Sagar’s directorial Gagan Damama Bajyo. In 2019, he contributed to a bilingual TV series for DD Anuprabha called Yeh Jo Hai Hara as an actor, assistant director, costume designer & dialogue writer. Tushant’s interest in writing expanded during the pandemic through Spiral Bound, a screenplay writing initiative by Boman Irani and Anosh Irani. Recently, he collaborated with Neha Vyaso on a devised play about life and times of Tennessee Williams called THE END? Tennessee & His Streetcar.

Vaishnavi Ratna Prashant
Actor, Director & Theatre-Maker
Vaishnavi is a dynamic actor, director and theater maker working across several theatre projects, films and advertisements. She is the founder of the theatre company Unheard Elephants. Her honorary mentions include a primary role in Anurag Kashyap’s Choked alongside his other feature films such as Ghost Stories and Ray. The passion for the industry runs deep with Vaishnavi, making a directorial debut for the music video Saajanwa by flying carpet production alongside operating under several titles such as acting coach and casting director. Her wide range of talent has led her to receiving the highly deemed The Drama School Foundation Mumbai Grant.

Vaishnavi showcases a range of complex roles as an actor, intending/inspiring to move her audience and prompting a change in thinking. She staged her independently run one-woman play Baap Re under Unheard Elephants. She plays 4 characters in Sad Sakharam under the production of the Awishkar Theatre Group. In addition to this, she was also a screening panelist for the prestigious Thespo24. As an accomplished actor, she has showcased her talent in mulit-lingual productions (English, Hindi and Marathi) as well as several award winning productions. Her hardwork and talent has secured her roles in adverts and crucial speaking roles with tv series.

Lobsang Jimba Norbu
Actor & Theatre-Maker
Lobsang Jimba Norbu is an actor and theatre-maker, originally from Arunachal Pradesh, and currently based in Mumbai. He has been trained in the Navarasa Sadhana alongside his extensive theatre training at DSM. He has acted in productions like the Gentleman’s Hourglass, 2-D Crush, Fireflies, Seagull and the Black Comedy.