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Miraj: A Dramatic Reading at Studio Tamashaa and IIT Bombay

Mi’raj

معراج

A dramatic reading of the play written by Nisha Abdulla

followed by discussion with the playwright

Performed by Qissa Kothi

16th December 6:30 pm: IIT Bombay

17th December 11 am: Studio Tamaasha

ABOUT THE PLAY

Mi’raj is an exploration of Faith’s interjection with its old foe, Doubt. The play uses Islamic mythology and contemporary politics to begin a conversation about the boundaries of faith in an increasingly polarized world.

According to Islamic belief, Al Isra wal-Mi’raj (The Journey to Ascension) is a journey undertaken by the Prophet in a single night. Guided by Buraq, the white winged steed, he is believed to have met prophets from the past as he ascended the seven levels of heaven, eventually meeting God in Paradise. Young Tariq Rizvi, the protagonist of the play, is on a journey of his own as he struggles to understand the multiplicity of truth. He finds himself caught in a tangled reality in faraway Turkey and Iraq where he faces a collision of beliefs when his childhood friend and companion on this journey, Ijaz Basheer, raises questions about the word of God and the cost of belief.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Nisha Abdulla is a playwright and performer based out of Bangalore. Her foray into theatre began with training and performances in Playback and Theatre of the Oppressed, moving later into devised productions. Over the last 2 years she has focused on writing and directing, beginning with short plays and school productions, and later training at the Indian Ensemble Playwright Program 2015, facilitated by Abhishek Majumdar. Her first full length play, Mi'raj, produced by Indian Ensemble Studio, premiered in August 2016 and continues its run in Bangalore and elsewhere. She was recently long-listed at the Hindu Playwright Award 2017 for her latest work 'Blue is the Colour I Cry'. Currently, Nisha is learning theatre direction at the Indian Ensemble Director's Training Program 2017. Nisha is also co-founder and writer at Ever After Learning, an organisation that builds story based learning modules for use in school classrooms.

ABOUT QISSA KOTHI

QISSA KOTHI was formed about a year back when some artists/researchers based in Mumbai were grappling with a name for their collective explorations. Several names were discussed before one decided upon Qissa Kothi, a name that embodies the tradition of performance in the outside of accepted social life - the Kotha culture and the many said/unsaid qissa that it holds. Qissa Kothi aims at collective explorations of the personal beings of the artists who are housed in this group. These explorations are of course reflective of the society at large. Her Letters, funded by the Tagore Centre in Berlin is its first production.

SPECIAL THANKS TO STUDIO TAMAASHA

For details contact 9892770409

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