Mahabharata: The Journey Begins

A Why Not Theatre Production
Originally commissioned and presented by the Shaw Festival in association with Barbican, London.

Mahabharata includes text with permission from Carole Satyamurti’s Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling, published by W. W. Norton & Company; Devdutt Pattanaik’s Jaya, An Illustrated Retelling Of The Mahabharata, published by Penguin Random House India; and the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore.

Images David Cooper and Michael Cooper.

Synopsis of Open Rehearsal
Mahabharata is a contemporary take on a Sanskrit epic that is more than four thousand years old and foundational to Indian culture. This gripping story of a family feud explores profound philosophical and spiritual ideas. Why Not Theatre’s large-scale retelling stars a cast entirely of performers from the South Asian diaspora and presents a complex hybrid of cultures, balancing East and West, traditional and contemporary. Mahabharata is a visually stunning spectacle presented in two parts that takes audiences on a journey through the past in order to write a thrilling new future.

Tonight's open rehearsal presents highlights from Mahabharata: Karma (Part 1), The Life We Inherit

King Janamejaya is holding a ritual sacrifice in which he will kill all the snakes in the world to avenge his father’s death. In hopes of ending this cycle of revenge, a storyteller is summoned to tell King Janamejaya the tale of The Mahabharata. The storyteller tells of the rival Pandava and Kaurava clans and the choices that lead to their infamous Game of Dice.

Through playful narration, classical Indian dance, and a live band, the ensemble tells the stories of humans struggling to build a just world in the face of competition, jealousy, and rage. Exploring the themes of storytelling, ecocide, and dharma (empathy), Part 1 begins Mahabharata’s epic journey that asks, “When everyone believes they are right and their opponents wrong, how can one end a spiral of revenge?”

About Why Not Theatre
Why Not Theatre is an international theatre company based in Toronto, Canada, operating at the intersection of art, innovation and social change. Rooted in values of community and collaboration, Why Not challenges the status quo, rethinking how stories are told and who gets to tell them. Since its inception, the company has developed and produced 50+ new plays to critical and public acclaim. These works have toured to over 80 cities and garnered over 40 awards and nominations. Why Not is led by Founder and Co-Artistic Director, Ravi Jain, Executive Director, Karen Tisch, and Co-Artistic Director, Miriam Fernandes.

Acknowledgements
Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata was made possible by many funders including the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council, as well as the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund and remounted with the generous support of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.