In a fictional village, a unique tradition unfolds every full moon night – a Swayamvara is organized where women choose their ideal “Sushil Ladka”. But this is no ordinary selection. The village’s eldest woman, Somavanti, presents a riddle. whoever solves it gets the chance to tell her tale. But there is a condition – the story must be a lie. The most convincing falsehood wins, yet each tale is a sharp satire, exposing the uncomfortable truths we see but refuse to confront. As the night unfolds, we realize that life itself is a web of riddles and stories. But beyond all the illusions, the one thing that truly touches us is love.

Director

Saurabh Nayyar’s advent in theatre began in 2005 with Vivechna Rangmandal Jabalpur where he did musical theatre. After joining Prithvi theatre, he enhanced his knowledge and volunteered with London based Complicite theatre group. He joined Manav Kaul’s Aranya theatre group and has done several well acclaimed plays since then – Ilhaam, Red Sparrow, Bali aur Shambhu, Mamtaz Bhai Patang Wale among others. He is best known for his role of Malvolio in Atul Kumar’s play Piya Behrupiya and Sunil Shanbag’s play Stories in a Song. Saurabh Has written six plays including three musical plays for children and has adapted Baaghi Albele for Aadyam Theatre Festival, 2023.  Saurabh has worked with theatre directors like Sunil Shanbag, Saurabh Shukla, Manav Kaul, Rajat Kapoor, Atul Kumar, and Akarsh Khurana to name a few. His directed musical play, Golden Jubilee, was widely appreciated and had participated in various national theatre festivals.

Director’s Note

In directing this play, the writing itself was a great help. One thing was certain-that simplicity and minimalistic elements should be maintained, so that the audience’s focus remains more on the text than the set. And since a fictional village was created, the language had to be Hindi with a fictional dialect that people could still understand. During direction, the instruction to everyone was that whatever is written should be presented in the simplest way possible, so that the world of the play feels close to the audience, and not like just a staged performance.

Writer (s)   

Saurabh Nayyar started his writing journey with poems and short stories. He adapted many plays like Khwaab sa, (adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream), Baaghi Albele both plays were directed by Atul Kumar. Saurabh co-wrote and directed the acclaimed play Golden Jubilee. Saurabh Has written six plays including three musical plays for children.

Niketa Saraf started her writing journey with short stories. She wrote a short film Dhunak which won awards in many short film festivals. Naam mein ka rakhwo hai? is her first full length play, co-written with Saurabh Nayyar. 

Group

Jubilee Theatre Foundation, is a dynamic group of artists, having a wide array of musicals, children plays & social dramas and thought-provoking productions that incorporates topical societal issues that interconnects complex human emotions. There productions focus on ushering positive change much needed in today’s world shifting towards artificial intelligence. The group’s primary objectives are to foster collaboration and encourage artistic growth as a collaborative process.