Hear, Here! (Volume 2)

What happens when two particles collide?

In one realm, they either bounce off each other, stick to each other or break apart into two particles. In another realm, in 2024, we find ourselves living in a world where multiple forces are trying to displace each other, resulting in an environment that feels unstable, sometimes hopeless. Collisions everywhere – of populations, ideologies, politics, and identities. The selection of plays in Hear, Here! (Vol. 2) brings together a selection of plays that reflects this. Based in part on suggestions we received from our audiences during Vol. 1, and in part a recognition of the moment we’re living through, the lineup is a snapshot of responses to seething chaos.

Vol. 2 comprises of Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq – which investigates the political mood of disillusionment under the Delhi sultan Mohammed bin Tughlaq’s rule; Keffiyeh/Made in China by Dalia Taha – which underscores life under occupation in Palestine and western attitudes to the conflict; Scorched by Wadji Mouawad – a fiery tale of a mother who sends her two children on a quest to unravel their identity, from beyond the grave; and Lucy Kirkwood’s Mosquitoes – a spellbinding account of two sparring sisters set in the world of particle physics.

The (mildly) rehearsed readings will take place at Harkat Studios in Mumbai on alternate Mondays starting Jan 22.

And as another nod to mildness, this time in expansion, we find a home at the Bangalore International Centre in Bengaluru, for two of the plays.

The readings are free and open to all. Though if you work in the theatre, they’re especially for you.

The scripts will be available to read through January and March 2024 on www.thedramalibrary.com

– Arghya and Phalguni