Teesri Duniya Theatre Announces 38th Season

Building on last year's both critical and popular success with Birthmark, combined with this season's opener, the triumphant HONOUR: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan, Teesri Duniya Theatre's (TDT) Artistic Director Rahul Varma is honoured to announce the company's 38th season, their biggest one ever-Are We There Yet?

TDT's high quality theatre season is described as 'four links, one chain'; multiple events divided into four interconnected areas related to the company's mission-to produce bold, ground-breaking and culturally diverse plays that provoke conversation. These links are: stage productions; script development; alt.theatre magazine; and artist and community programs. Known publicly for impactful full-length plays, of which there are three this year, Teesri Duniya Theatre also works all year cultivating numerous top-notch creative community outreach series and ongoing workshops for playwrights. See below for details.

Season 2019-20, Are We There Yet? examines where we have arrived as a society, and how far we have left to go. The respected theatre company puts their money where their mouth is, asking crucial questions and moving the discussion forward. Teesri Duniya Theatre is one of the very few culturally-inclusive companies in Canada and one-of-a-kind in Quebec. They have produced award-winning work by visible minorities, Indigenous communities and dominant cultures, and are proud that most of their directors are women. The Theatre has also launched the careers of many visible minority artists and playwrights.

Long-time Artistic Director Rahul Varma speaks to what this season means to him: "Thirty-eight years ago Teesri Duniya Theatre initiated the journey to make cultural diversity an accessible, ongoing factor that everyone can enjoy. This season celebrates the human condition at its darkest and most pressing, but also at its brightest and most jubilant junctures." The company continues to encourage dialogue, holding audience talkbacks with invited guest panels and fostering community engagement.

Fireworks Playwrights Program Facilitator Deborah Forde is proud of the three-phased approach that she and Associate Artistic Director Liz Valdez have devised "This method allows the artist to focus first on story development, then on stage craft, and finally to marry the two in an outcome with a reading/performance. By the end, our writers are very clear about what they want to say and the most effective way to convey that story. Moreover, they have a good understanding of the partnership between writer, director, actor and designer, and their role within that partnership."

Teesri Duniya Theatre SEASON 2019-20: ARE WE THERE YET?

Honour: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan by Dipti Mehta, Oct. 3-6 at Montréal, arts interculturels.

A fun, poignant yet deeply moving coming of age story about a girl in a brothel, offering a glimpse into the exotic, dangerous life of Mumbai's real-life brothels and why they exist.

Counter Offence by Rahul Varma, March 10-29 at the Segal Centre.

A murder mystery examining the consequences of gender vs race and skin-colour. Counter Offence is a collision of virtues where the struggle to end racism comes into conflict with the struggle to end violence against women.

To Stand Again verbatim play by Jim Forsythe, workshop production date TBA.

Based on interviews with Syrian refugees, To Stand Again aims to voice the different challenges and hopes of these new Canadians.

Camille: Un rendez-vous au-delà du visuel (Beyond Sight) by Audrey-Anne Bouchard, Sept. 4-22 at Montréal, arts interculturels.

Explores how to create and communicate an artistic experience that does not involve sight. N.B. Teesri Duniya Theatre supported Audrey-Anne Bouchard's independent production.

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