Uncle Dance

Uncle DanceMonday, 23rd November, 6.00 p.m. - 6.45 p.m.Language: Hindi, EnglishAbout the PerformanceUncle Dance borrows from Pranjal’s personal struggles with patriarchy and with dance. It enquires into the quintessential uncle and the role of power and security in relationships and on the dance floor. The play also explores marriage as a construct, and the possibility of two people tying the knot to become one, when they are always actually two.Cast: Pranjal Vaid and Anya GhaiLight Design: Yash PotnisAbout the ArtistsPranjal VaidBorn into a Punjabi joint family with 26 people living under one roof, Pranjal’s tryst with drama began fairly early. He has continued to observe drama and reimagine it on the stage and the screen, as an actor, writer and director.Pranjal has acted in productions such as Viraasat, directed by Anuradha Kapur, Mezok, directed by Jyoti Dogra, and Quicksand, directed by Neel Chaudhuri. He has also devised, written and acted in the play Amb Da Boota.Having studied Creative Communications at MICA, Ahmedabad, Pranjal has directed ad-films and campaigns for brands such as upGrad, Amazon, Starbucks, JSL, IndusInd Bank and Dabur Real.Anya GhaiAnya Ghai is an actor who makes theatre, and has been doing it for over eight years. A trained actor from Drama School Mumbai, she has deepened her practice through Lecoq pedagogy under Anitha Santhanam and the Grotowski Method under Jyoti Dogra. Her devised ensemble piece Amb Da Boota has run for twenty shows.Off stage, she has directed, written, and edited ad film campaigns for upGrad, Amazon, Spotify, Delhi Commission For Women, and 4700 BC Popcorn. She also teaches photography at Guru Ram Rai Public School in Dehradun, holds a postgraduate degree in Creative Communication from MICA, Ahmedabad, and has a deep, uncomplicated love for drawing.Performance Photos Credit: Kwantum PhotozAbout the Festival:PLAYINTERPLAY 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 Director Anmol 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.