3 New Productions Announced as Part of the NCPA Theatre Season

The National Centre for the Performing Arts announces its upcoming 2018-2019 theatre season. The India première of Nick Payne’s award-winning play Constellations, directed by Bruce Guthrie, will open the season this November. The next play will be NCPA and The Shakespeare Edit’s co-production of William Shakespeare’s poem Lucrece adapted and directed by Paul Goodwin. The final production for the season which will be presented at the NCPA in collaboration with the Australia Fest is Slingsby’s Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner, adapted for the stage by Nicki Bloom. These productions will all be staged at the Experimental Theatre, NCPA.

NCPA Theater Season

“In addition to its normal presentations showcasing local theatre productions, with this theatre season, NCPA aims to establish a regular programme of home-produced dramas, combining established repertoire from the English-speaking canon with new writing, which will embrace our local talent as well as reach out to younger audiences. This season is augmented with a visiting international production thereby embracing diversity and multi-culturalism." Mr. Khushroo Suntook, the Chairman of the NCPA.

Constellations is about Marianne and Roland who meet at a barbecue. They are single, or recently single or in a relationship or married? Perhaps they go on a date and fall in love, or perhaps it doesn't go well? Maybe they get together and they break up? After a chance encounter at a dance lesson preparing for an upcoming wedding, they get back together, or maybe Marianne reveals that she's now engaged to someone else. Or perhaps Roland is engaged. Or what if Roland and Marianne navigate all of this and get married? Or what if their time together is cut tragically short? “In the quantum multiverse, every choice, every decision you've ever and never made exists in an unimaginably vast ensemble of parallel universes.” Does free will exist? Or are we playing out one of a multitude of predetermined possibilities? Nick Payne's touching and funny multi award-winning play is about many things - String theory, the multiverse, free will, choice, honey - but it's also about what it is to love someone so much that you will put their needs before your own, no matter the cost.

Lucrece is a dramatic adaptation of a Shakespeare poem, written in 1594. Extraordinary in its beauty and scope, it is the tale of a woman who is forced to find power in the most challenging of circumstances, and through sacrifice, look to empower others towards societal change. Lucrece tackles current issues around sexual assault and patriarchy.

In Slingsby’s signature intimate theatrical style, Emil and The Detectives is told by two skilled actors immersed in smoke and mirrors, miniature worlds and a cinematic score. Dark and light, intrigue and delight for audiences aged eight and upwards. Young Emil catches a train to visit family in the big city. Something valuable is stolen. But the thief soon discovers Emil was not such an easy target. A group of quick-thinking and resourceful children rallies around. Can a bunch of kids work together to uncover and outsmart the true criminal? Kästner’s 1929 novella is more than a ‘good romp’, it broke ground for the independent-children-versus-devious-adults story genre. Streetwise city kids, a hard-working single mother and Emil’s past brush with the law add grit and nuance to this satisfying tale.How do we find our friends in the world? How do we work together to defeat tricksters?

Creative Producer Pádraig Cusack said, “We are thrilled to announce a season of extraordinary premières – three productions that are entertaining, challenging and inspiring in their own distinctive ways, offering something for everyone. The ambition of the work that NCPA produces is to appeal to the widest possible audiences. The plays wrestle with current issues - assault, patriarchy, place of women in society, the mysteries of connection, the exploration of the universal truth of finding and losing love, in compelling, sometimes funny and potent ways. Each play reveals a fearless and original theatricality and collision of forms, pushing the boundaries of what theatre can be and do. We are excited to collaborate with these remarkable playwrights, directors, and artists and bring their work to our audiences.”

About the NCPA
Opening its doors to the world in 1969, the NCPA became the first multi-venue and multi-purpose cultural centre to be built in South Asia. The NCPA is committed to preserving and promoting India's rich and vibrant artistic heritage in the fields of music, dance, theatre, film, literature and photography, as well as presenting new and innovative work by Indian and international artists from a diverse range of genres including drama, contemporary dance, orchestral concerts, opera, jazz and chamber music. Today, the NCPA hosts more than 700 events each year, making it India’s largest and most holistic performing arts centre.

As India’s role on the international stage expands, the NCPA has been investing in the country’s cultural future. The Centre regularly presents performances and workshops by leading artists from around the country. As the national performing arts centre, the NCPA also has an eye towards the international arts. The NCPA presents several international groups and has collaborated with arts organisations and theatres around the globe including the Southbank Centre, Carnegie Hall, National Theatre (London), the Edinburgh Festival, and the Metropolitan Opera (New York).

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