For the love of theatre | Manav Kaul's 'Traasadi'

In 2022, when Manav Kaul was visiting Sweden, he was pleasantly surprised to find a community of Indians and Nepalis who were avid readers of his books. The actor, theatre director, playwright, filmmaker and author is now chuffed that his play Traasadi has also found its way to northern Europe.

The solo-performance, one-act play written, directed and enacted by Kaul deals with the loss of a mother. It has been staged more than 75 times in different cities in India since it opened one and a half years ago. Now, it will be staged in Stockholm (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Oslo (Norway) at the end of May.

“Scandinavia has a fairly large community of Indians, Nepalis, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis who follow me on social media and are aware of my work. There is a group that organises stand-up comedies, and they reached out to me to perform this play. I reminded them of the play’s title—Traasadi (tragedy)—and that it deals with death, but they are very keen to go beyond stand-up comedies and stage other genres that more people can connect with,” he says, adding that he is looking forward to the audience's response. It is the first time that the play is touring internationally. Coincidentally, his other play, Jo Dooba So Paar, is also making its foreign debut, with shows in Germany this July. “It is a great boost to the kind of work our theatre group Aranya is doing,” Kaul adds.

After Scandinavia, Kaul will also visit Iceland and Austria for his annual break, where he intends to spend time writing and relaxing. “There is a lot of writing I need to finish and also start,” he says, adding that there is a new play in the pipeline that he has already finished, which will open once he returns from his break.

—Traasadi will be staged in Stockholm on May 29, Copenhagen on May 30 and Oslo on May 31