How Not to Build a Theatre Institution

How Not to Build a Theatre InstitutionA Conversation with Abhishek Mudgal, Sanyukta Saha and Abhishek Majumdar, moderated by Priyanka Varma Friday, 27th November, 5.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m.About the ConversationArtists establish and lead theatre institutions (which include long-standing initiatives) for different reasons — to practice, teach, present, advocate or support the art form, for instance.But such undertakings, especially if they function independently of secure government or corporate largesse, can falter or fail. The poverty of infrastructure and support for the theatre are among the external factors that are adduced for the precariousness of artist-led institutions. Internal factors are rarely cited. What if the institution is over-reliant on personal equations and goodwill for its sustenance? Or if its ownership is narrowly concentrated in one or two charismatic personalities? Or if it is too obsessed with legacy concerns to avert obsolescence in a swiftly changing environment?This session will investigate what might lie inside any theatre institution that could threaten its stability and hamper its growth. Reflecting on their personal experience of founding and running institutions, three theatre artists will tell us about what worked or did not work about the choices they made. Were discontents allowed to simmer, tensions swept under the carpet or challenges left unaddressed? In hindsight, do they regret any missteps or wish they had done some things differently?About the Participants Sanyukta SahaSanyukta Saha is a theatre pedagogue, facilitator and community arts leader, and the Founder and Executive Director of Aagaaz Theatre Trust, a community-rooted arts organisation in New Delhi. Her work focuses on participatory arts-based learning processes with children, adolescents, youth and women, using theatre, dialogue and reflection to explore questions of identity, citizenship, gender, well-being and belonging.Sanyukta holds an MA in Theatre and Development Studies from the University of Leeds, UK, and a BA in English Literature from the University of Delhi. She has taught and facilitated learning processes at Ashoka University and the University of Delhi, and has also been involved in mentoring through the Bargad Theatre Fellowship.She has over 17 years of experience working across theatre, education and community-based practice. Before founding Aagaaz Theatre Trust in 2015, she worked as Arts Education Programme Coordinator with the Aga Khan Foundation, where she designed and implemented arts-integrated education programmes in the neighbourhood government school in Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin and early childhood centres. She has also worked as a theatre facilitator and community practitioner with Pandies' Theatre and through her independent practice.At Aagaaz, Sanyukta leads the organisation's strategy and overall development, while continuing to facilitate, mentor and develop participatory creative processes with young people and communities.Abhishek MajumdarAbhishek Majumdar is a writer and director, working across theatre, novels, essays, film and opera. He is the Program Head and Arts Professor of Theater at NYU Abu Dhabi and Artistic Director of Nalanda Arts Studio, Bengaluru. His work has been produced and commissioned by leading theatres of the world, including the Royal Court Theatre (London), Prithvi Theatre (Mumbai), Ranga Shankara (Bengaluru), Deutsch Shauspielhaus (Hamburg), Ruhrfestspiele (Recklinghausen), Théâtre du Soleil (Paris), National Theatre (London) and San Francisco Opera.Beyond theatre-making, he is deeply committed to training younger playwrights and directors and curating diverse voices to contribute to a theatre of ideasAbhishek MudgalA State Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee, Abhishek Mudgal graduated from the Department of Dramatics, University of Rajasthan. He also holds a Diploma in Natyashastra and Western Theatre from Rabindranath Tagore University, Bhopal.In 2021, he was honoured with the Junior Fellowship by the Ministry of Culture, recognising his sustained contribution to Indian theatre. He has directed and performed in over 1000 street plays on women’s safety across Rajasthan in the aftermath of the Delhi rape case. In 2012, he was awarded the Ministry of Culture’s Scholarship for Young Artists for extensive research on acting styles.Abhishek has directed more than 25 plays, including Hayavadana, Mahabrahman, Raktkalyan, Dulari Bai and Rashmirathi (based on Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s epic poem).He is the Founder and Director of the Rang Rajasthan Festival, one of India’s leading theatre festivals, which has been running successfully for the past 11 years. He has also served as Programme Officer at Rajasthan International Centre and as Stage Manager at Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi.Currently, Abhishek serves as Stage Manager at the National School of Drama. In 2025, he represented India at the Singapore Indian Theatre Festival, organised by the High Commission of India, Singapore.About the FestivalPLAYINTERPLAY is a theatre festival with a difference. It celebrates 50 years of the Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation, bringing together its theatre awardees and scholars to show their work, share their experiences, skills and learnings, and converse on matters of common interest.PLAYINTERPLAY presents plays that are new to Bengaluru. What is different, however, is that it looks back as well as forward, featuring a work of theatre that has been specially revived for the festival and readings of plays that are still to become the finished article.PLAYINTERPLAY does more: it forges connections between its constituent parts — performances, workshops, conversations and experience sharing — emphasising the interplay between thought, learning and practice.See the plays! Apply for the workshops! Join the conversations! Soak in the magic of theatre.About the Artistic DirectorAnmol Vellani is the founder and former executive director of India Foundation for the Arts, the first independent philanthropic organisation in India devoted exclusively to supporting the arts. He is also the co-founder of Toto Funds the Arts, which nurtures, encourages and rewards new voices and emerging talent in the arts.Anmol did not, however, aspire to become a professional in the field of philanthropy. His early fascination was with the arts, especially theatre and music, and also philosophy, which he studied at the Universities of Poona, Oxford and Cambridge. He taught ethics, logic and the history of philosophy at Elphinstone College, Mumbai, in the 1970s.His writing and talks — on arts entrepreneurship, the creative economy, cultural policy, the role of grant-making foundations, culture and development, arts collaboration and the performing arts, for example — have reflected on the insights he has gleaned from his long engagement with the arts and philanthropy.Anmol has been associated with nearly 50 plays as a director, designer or actor. He has directed theatre productions in different languages and cities. His last two plays — Innocence (2024) and Apne Ghar Jaisa (2022) — have been lauded for their sharp and critical look at contemporary social and political realities in India.