Sep 12 2025 to Sep 12 2025 7 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Language: Kannada, English, Hindi, Tamil & Malayalam

Hello Tension! is a play that explores gender, love, theatre, and the search for belonging within a society that often suppresses individuality. Set in a fictional South Indian town, it follows the theatre group Bottle and the Sea as they rehearse a production based on the myth of Aravan and Krishna’s marriage, a story tied to the Kurukshetra war. Their work is disrupted when the land-owning trust threatens to shut down their theatre, pushing the troupe into crisis.

The tension deepens as one queer actor struggles with his own views on marriage in a country where same-sex unions remain unrecognized. His internal conflict mirrors the troupe’s broader struggle with identity, relationships, and societal expectations. Through this lens, the play becomes both a reflection on LGBTQ+ rights and a testament to theatre as a space of resistance, capturing the fight for survival of both art and identity.

Credits:
Devising Actors: Anindya Gupta, Hitesh Ananthakrishna, Jagadishwar Sukumar, Priteesh Bhandary,  Rhea Naomi, Siddhanth Sundar & Sweethin Hartman
Director: Siddhanth Sundar
Movement: Deepak Kurki
Lights: Swetanshu Bora
Sound: Bijo Jose
Music: Adavi Arts Collective & Sweethin Hartman
Producer: Divya Navaneetha Krishna

Supported by:

Cast & Crew

Anindya Gupta
Actor
Anindya is an interdisciplinary artist. She is a performance and visual artist. She has been a theatre practitioner for almost a decade, and in the last few years, she has been designing space and art installations. She is currently pursuing a fellowship in tech art.

Hitesh Ananthakrishna
Actor
Hitesh (he/they) comes from an interdisciplinary background spanning space, society, and gender. While he works in the corporate sector full-time, his passions firmly lie in theatre. He is equally interested in exploring how these creative tools and interactions can inform and influence policymaking processes.

Jagadishwar Sukumar
Actor
Trained Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer. During the last 16 years he has trained under renowned Gurus like Smt. Renjusha Nair, Sri. Parshwanath upadhye and Sri. Praveen Kumar. A graduate in Biotechnology Jagadishwar has over the years worked with multiple dance companies like Aayana, Lasyathandava and Rudrabhinaya and also received the Balathilagam and Nrityanjali awards among others.

Priteesh Bhandary
Actor
Prithesh Bhandary is an award-winning playwright and filmmaker. He has performed in over 120 shows across the country. He has written over 16 plays and is still counting. His films have won over 50 awards around the world.

Rhea Naomi
Actor
Began her career in theatre and television series at the age of 9 as a child artist. She has been doing theatre for over a decade and has appeared on channels like Doordarshan, ETV Kannada, Chandana and Udaya. She holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a diploma in performing arts from Attakkalari and is trained in ballet, bharatanatyam and kalaripayyat. Rhea also enjoys exploring music, painting and is very passionate about the intersection of science and arts.

Siddhanth Sundar
Actor & Director
Siddhanth Sundar, a multidisciplinary artist from Bangalore, works across theatre, film, and music. As Creative Director of Lights Off Theatre (founded 2005), he has staged productions like Odyssey, The Zoo Story, Lights Out, and Hinge Yellamma, showcased at festivals worldwide. His work blends lightness with depth, exploring themes of gender, poverty, fascism, love, longing, space, time, and queer identity.

Sweethin Hartman
Actor
Sweethin Hartman is a versatile actor, musician, singer-songwriter, and content creator. A semi-finalist on Indias Got Talent, he has performed on stages across India and abroad. With a deep passion for storytelling, his theatre journey spans improv, devised work, comedy, and scripted plays. Each performance is a deep dive into authenticity, creativity, and a genuine connection with his audience.

Adavi Arts Collective
Music
Adavi, as an art collective, works in the field of folk and contemporary art forms. Adavi focuses on Music, Dance and Theatre aiming to educate art awareness to the younger generations by creating an ecosystem that will help them find their expression themselves.

Deepak Kurki
Movement
Deepak Kurki Shivaswamy a contemporary performing artist from Bangalore has been engaged in artistic work as a performer, creator and teacher since the year 2000. With a post graduate diploma in choreography from S.E.A.D in Austria, he has trained, worked and presents dance works in India and Europe. As a teacher, he has been a guest faculty for art institutes like Attakkalari, Gati, Stem, Aditi Mangaldas dance company, Dance worx, Rangayana and Motley theatre group in India. He is a visiting professor for dance in universities like Ashoka, SNU, and Ambedkar in New Delhi.

Bijo Jose
Sound
A versatile sound engineer with international and local experience across film, live events, recording studios, ads, theater, podcasts, orchestras, YouTube, and radio. Specialised in delivering clear, impactful, and professional sounds across diverse platforms.

Swetanshu Bora
Lights
Stage, film & radio performer and writer with over 15 years of experience garnering several awards and recognitions. Expert in corporate trainings using theatre to affect change in domains like DEI, ethics and compliance and company culture. Voice over expertise includes over 20 audiobooks (on Audible.in), corporate jingles, film & ad dubbings.

Divya Navaneetha Krishna
Producer
Divya is a software developer with a deep passion for the arts, actively contributing to music and theatre as a performer and behind the scenes. She also dedicates her time to supporting initiatives around menstrual health, mental wellness, and yoga-based healing.