Feb 22 2025 to Feb 22 2025 6:30 p.m.

Where

Courtyard Koota

Ground floor, Good Earth Tarana Good Earth Malhar, near Rajarajeswari medical college Kambipura, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560074

Event Description

The only thing more comical than clowns in a Chekhov play is a Chekhov play in the clowns' hands!

Witness the chaos as a troupe of silly and stupid clowns attempts to take on Anton Chekhov’s 'Uncle Vanya' – where personal rivalries (and romances), forgotten dreams (and lines), and a whole lot of backstage drama (that’s honestly more dramatic than the play itself) threaten to derail the entire production.

Will they ever manage to get through a single rehearsal? Come find out in this uproarious and touching reimagining of a Chekhovian classic.

This play is supported by the DSM Niloufer Sagar Alumni Production Grant.

About What-If Productions:

Ever wondered ‘what if’? We do!

What-if Productions is a playful playground for artists and audiences alike. We believe in the cathartic potential of theatre, clowning, and play; and aim to build a community that fosters connection and a childlike gaze towards life.
The Cast:

Aswin Varrier

Aswin Varrier is an actor and theatre-maker currently based in Bangalore. He has been trained in Theatre from Drama School Mumbai (batch of 2017-18) and Christ University Dept. Of Theatre Studies (2013-16). He has worked in theatre in multiple capacities, from being an actor, singer, to a technician, but he enjoys performing on stage more than anything else. He has also served as Asst. Festival Co-Ordinator for ITFoK 2019 and Asst. Curator for Theatre at the Serendipity Arts Festival 2019. He currently works as a Drama based Learning Facilitator for corporate organizations.

Some plays he has acted in - Maati (directed By Mahesh Dattani), Thief.Cactus.Goat.Smut, Anthill, As You Like It, Oliver! The Musical.

He has also served as the assistant director for 2 plays - Nava and Project Darling, by Sharanya Ramprakash.

Nuhar Bansal

Nuhar Bansal is an actor and arts manager currently based in Bangalore. Despite being an active thespian all through her childhood and education, she began her professional theatre journey in 2016 immediately after graduating as a lawyer from the Gujarat National Law University. She started out as one of the very few female independent production managers in the Bangalore theatre scene. For the following six years, she dabbled in festival production, venue management, performance tours, partnerships and communication roles, and managed many independent projects as well. She also explored opportunities to train and perform as an actor during this time. She has workshopped with artists like Aditya Garg, Anuja Ghosalkar, Diya Naidu, Vivek Vijaykumaran among others. She has performed in: ‘That Woman’ and ‘Saheli’ by Team ‘a’ Productions, Mahabharata and Shakespeare Storytelling for kids, Adaptation of ‘Museum of Species in Danger’ by Rasika Aghashe. She is now back on stage after a sabbatical of 2 years, rekindling her love for clowning and debuting in long form performance.

Sushobhita Kar

Sushobhita is an educator and theatre maker who has trained in Theatre in education from the National School of Drama, TIE Tripura (2020), and is working in the theater space as a performer from 2012 in Bengali, Hindi, and English language. Her areas of interest include drama in education and performance making.  She is an alumna of Hyderabad Central University where she completed her masters in Theatre Arts, 2019 and is currently working as a theater facilitator at Headstart Educational Academy, Bengaluru.

She has directed stage adaptations of Andher nagari-chaupat raja, Goopy gyne Bagha byne and devised performance “water” with children; and has performed in plays – Trojan Women, MidSummer Night’s dream, Doll’s house, Shivaratri, Yahudi ki ladki, To the stars, Ganith Manthan, In your hands (TIE play)  etc.

Sriharsha Grama

Sriharsha is an amaetur theatre director and actor. He has worked in various Kannada and English plays with well-known directors and production houses from the year 2001 and has undergone several trainings and workshops with Adishakti Theatre Pondicherry, Bannanje Sanjeev Suvarna (Principal, Udupi Yakshagaana kala kendra) for Yakshagaana, Bharathanatyam, Suzuki and Viewpoints under Akhshay Gandhi, and also under Ellen Lauren, JeD Ariza from SITI Company New York, Pangambam Tyson Meitei from Manipur Kalakshetra, Kalari under Apurva Arthur, Realism under Abhishek Majumdar, Lakshmana K P, Jagdeesh Raja and Clowning under Igor Nrovski, Suzie Ferguson, and Linda Skranda.

Sriharsha has worked with many well-known directors like Shri Chidambara Rao Jambe, Abhishek Majumdar, Akhshay Gandhi, Joseph John, and Vinod Raveendran.

He has directed a few plays and short plays with different productions like StillSpace theatre, Wemove Theatre, Antharanga and SAP Rangabhoomi.

He is currently associated with a charitable trust called The Doctor Parrots Organization as a Managing Trustee and also a healthcare clown mainly working in Indira Gandhi Institute of Health Sciences.

Varsha S. (Set)

Varsha S. is an architect by profession and actor by passion. Her interests range from performance to design which includes set designing, acting, and writing. She has acted in plays ‘Sirisampige’, ‘Salmanana difficultiesu’, ‘Karnalge yaaru bareyuvude illa’ and so on and is currently working as an architect.

Ajay Kshatriya (Production)

Ajay Kshatriya is a theatre loving artist who views the stage as a space for redemption and transformation. He began his journey as a production assistant for Hindi plays like Kaumudi and Thook and later assisted Abhishek Majumdar as an assistant director for the play Treadmill, gaining profound insights into the craft. His experience as production manager for Dum-e-Tasleem and collaborations with directors like Akhshay Gandhi, Dayasindhu Sakrepatna, and Sriharsha Grama have further shaped his artistry. Ajay believes theatre transcends norms and ways of life, offering redemption by challenging conventions and inspiring change through meaningful narratives.

Shivam Vig (Direction and Script)

Shivam is a theatre-practitioner and healthcare clown based in Bangalore; and his current artistic approach focuses on centering empathy, connection, and playfulness at the heart of the human experience.

He received formal training in Acting and Theatre-making from Drama School Mumbai post which he has dedicated himself to a multifaceted artistic practice encompassing theatre, films, voiceovers, teaching, and healthcare clowning.

He works as a healthcare clown with Dr. Parrots – a healthcare clowning organization that engages with hospitals and NGOs across the city.

Age - 14+