Feb 12 2026 to Feb 12 2026 4 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Drawing from Commedia dell’arte, clowning, and physical theatre, this workshop puts the body first. It explores how physical action, form, and rhythm can unlock imagination, presence, and emotional life in ways that psychological approaches alone cannot.

Developed in collaboration with La Compagnie Dramatique, whose long-running, critically acclaimed comedy by Dario Fo, The Open Couple, has been in repertoire since 2013, this workshop offers an inside look at the playful, high-energy physical tools used in making a full-scale professional production, and how they are shaped into clear, dynamic storytelling.

Who It’s For

For actors and theatre practitioners, this workshop loosens habitual patterns, rebuilds physical ease, and rediscovers play. It is particularly useful if you feel blocked, overly cerebral, or curious about comedy and physical performance.

For writers, directors, educators, or anyone curious about how performers work, the principles here extend well beyond the stage. Presence, adaptability, attention, and expressive freedom are skills that land anywhere.

Curiosity, openness, and a willingness to play are enough.

Inside the Workshop

Discover the impact of exaggeration, contrast and neutrality 
Witness the relationship between physical form and inner state
Experience mindful presence, unburdened play, and the pleasure of being seen
Learn to make an audience lean in with physical storytelling, rhythm, and clarity
Learn how these tools are ultimately shaped in service of text and performance
Participants will engage with the kinds of physical, rhythmic, and embodied approaches that are used in the making of a full-scale professional production. The workshop offers an inside look at how playful, high-energy physical exploration is later shaped, refined, and structured into clear storytelling and performance craft. The workshop is designed not for mastery in a single session, but for opening doors: to imagination, confidence, and a deeper appreciation of theatrical craft.

In collaboration with:

Facilitators

Faraz Khan
Actor, Writer & Director
Faraz Khan is an actor, writer, and director, and the chief facilitator of this workshop. He began his training in London, studying at LAMDA and Drama Centre, where his grounding in classical texts and performance theory ranged from Stanislavski and the American schools (Adler, Strasberg, Mamet) to broader dramaturgical inquiry.

As an actor, his film work includes Ship of Theseus (dir. Anand Gandhi), Patiala House, and international projects such as The Girl with the Indian Emerald (Germany) and Everywhere in Nowhere (UK). His recent work includes highly independent, experimental cinema such as Hunter Among Us (dir. Adish Keluskar), now streaming on Apple TV, and Yeh Mera Ghar (dir. Prabodh Bhajni), currently on the festival circuit.

At the core of Faraz’s practice is a sustained engagement with drama as a living craft. His workshop pedagogy draws strongly from psychophysical and outside-in approaches to performance, influenced by both modern practitioners such as Jerzy Grotowski and older embodied traditions, where imagination and emotional life are accessed through physical action rather than psychological analysis alone.

Ragini Roychowdhury
Creative Director, La Compagnie Dramatique
Ragini Roychowdhury is an ad-film director with over 12 years of experience across feature films and commercials. She has led campaigns for brands such as Reliance Trends, Asian Paints, and Tata Salt, and in 2023 received the Purple Elephant at the Kyoorius Creative Awards for a women’s equality campaign for the NGO Swayam.

Ragini is currently the Creative Director at La Compagnie Dramatique and serves as Creative Producer for their production of The Open Couple. Coming from the advertising world, her work engages storytelling within extremely compressed formats (often 45 to 60 seconds) demanding clarity, precision, and strong visual dramaturgy. This perspective informs her theatre and workshop practice, where the same dramatic tools are applied with a heightened awareness of structure, economy, and aesthetic decision-making.

La Compagnie Dramatique (LCD)
Theatre & Pedagogy Company
La Compagnie Dramatique is a theatre and pedagogy company founded by Faraz Khan and Ragini Roychowdhury. The company brings together distinct but complementary practices – Faraz’s background in theatre, dramaturgy, and actor training, and Ragini’s experience in visual storytelling and creative production.
Alongside producing plays, LCD places strong emphasis on workshops across contexts – with actors, non-performers, children, and corporate groups. The company views workshops not merely as training spaces, but as laboratories where theory is tested, refined, and kept alive through practice. This sustained engagement with pedagogy deeply informs LCD’s artistic work and underpins its approach to performance-making.