2017 Jessie Award and multiple Fringe Award recipient Rohit Chokhani delves into a blind man’s world as he reimagines Anosh Irani’s Bombay Black for the Dramatic Works Series at the 2017 Vancouver Fringe Festival from Thursday, September 7 to Saturday, September 16.
Winner of four Dora Mavor Moore Awards (2006) and nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award (2007), Bombay Black is a searing play set in the bitter reality of present-day India. The iron-willed Padma (Jessie Award nominated Nimet Kanji) takes money from men who watch her daughter, Apsara (Leo Award-winning Agam Darshi), perform an erotic dance. When a mysterious blind man named Kamal (Jessie Award nominated Munish Sharma) arrives for an appointment, his secret threatens to change each of their lives forever.
“Irani entwines fantasy with reality…a moving story” – Time Out Mumbai
“…promisingly written…a masterful blend of eroticism and mystery” – Toronto Star
Written by Indian-Canadian novelist and playwright Anosh Irani, Bombay Black features a remarkable poetic text, bold theatrical imagery, and a gritty twist.
In his directorial debut at the Fringe Festival, Rohit Chokhani says, “For the first time in Canada, this production will be directed by a Mumbai-born director of Indian descent. I’m so excited to be able to present this to Vancouver Fringe Festival audiences!”
Funny, violent and humane, Bombay Black features a culturally diverse cast, engaging with members of the South Asian community unlike ever before and taking audience members on a journey into a blind man’s world.
Credits for Bombay Black:
Written by: Anosh Irani
Directed by: Rohit Chokhani
Performed by: Nimet Kanji, Agam Darshi, & Munish Sharma
Associate Producer: Ashley Rose
Assistant Director: Gavan Cheema
Lighting Design & Stage Management by: Chengyan Boon
Set Design by: Sawkshi Sharma
Bombay Black
by Anosh Irani | directed by Rohit Chokhani
September 7-16, 2017 | Vancity Culture Lab | 1895 Venables Street
Thursday, September 7 at 8:50pm
Saturday, September 9 at 6:45pm
Sunday, September 10 at 1:55pm
Monday, September 11 at 7:00pm
Wednesday, September 13 at 8:50pm
Saturday, September 16 at 7:05pm
Tickets: Available online at http://bit.ly/2fnpGrG; $14 + cost of membership fee
About Rohit Chokhani:
Born in Mumbai and based in Vancouver, BC, Rohit Chokhani is an award-winning producer, director, cultural leader, and recipient of the 2017 Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Significant Artistic Achievement (Large Theatre). Striving to make performing arts equitable and sustainable, Chokhani recently launched Project SAT (South Asian Theatre), an initiative aimed at creating a network for developing, touring, producing, and presenting national and international South Asian theatre projects in Canada. Rohit is also the Artistic Producer at South Asian Arts Society, Artistic Associate at Bard on the Beach, and a co-producer of the Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts. His previous roles within the arts community include Artistic Producer for Diwali Fest (2013-2016), Producer in Residence at the National Arts Centre – English Theatre (2015/2016), and General Manager at Touchstone Theatre (2013/2014) as well as Urban Ink Productions (2012/2013).
www.rohitchokhani.com | www.projectsat.ca
