Based on the performers’ real life experiences and a violent incident that shocked the world.
Written and directed by Yaël Farber
Harbourfront Centre Theatre
November 18 – 29, 2015
Nightwood Theatre presents NIRBHAYA, written and directed by the internationally acclaimed Yaël Farber, at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 231 Queens Quay West, November 18 – 29, 2015. Described as “one of the most powerful and urgent pieces of human rights theatre ever made” (The Herald, Scotland), NIRBHAYA (Hindi for “Fearless”), is inspired by the true events that occurred on the night of December 16, 2012 after a young woman and her male friend boarded a bus in urban Delhi, India heading for home. What followed, changed the lives of these two people and countless others forever. NIRBHAYA is a searing work that cracks open the cone of silence around women whose lives have been shattered by gender-based violence. Using what happened on that Delhi bus as an inciting incident, NIRBHAYA inspires five women to share their own true testimonies of gender-based violence. With an extraordinary cast and creative team from India, the UK and Canada, NIRBHAYA is a blistering evocation of that terrible night and the ripples of change it set in motion. Called “powerful and incredibly moving” by The Independent (London, UK) and named Critics’ Pick by the New York Times, NIRBHAYA premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013 where it won the coveted Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, a Scotsman Fringe First Award and a Herald Angel Award for Outstanding New Play. Since 2014, NIRBHAYA has played to sellout-audiencesin London, New York City, Dublin, and on a 3-city Indian tour to Bangalore, Dehli and Mumbai. NIRBHAYA has its Canadian premiere in Vancouver, BC prior to the Toronto engagement.NIRBHAYA stars Priyanka Bose, Poorna Jagannathan, Sneha Jawale, Rukhsar Kabir, Japjit Kaur, Pamela Mala Sinha and Ankur Vikal. Montreal-based writer and director Yaël Farber is a multiple award-winning director and playwright of international acclaim. Born in South Africa, Ms. Farber’s productions have toured the world earning her a reputation for hard-hitting, controversial works of the highest artistic standard. Mies Julie (written and directed by Ms. Farber) won the Dora Award for Outstanding Touring Production for its presentation at Harbourfront Centre (World Stage, 2014), was named one of the Top Ten Productions of 2012 by The New York Times, and one of the Top 5 Productions of 2012 by The Guardian. In May 2014 Ms. Farber’s direction of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible at the Old Vic in London received 10 x 5 star reviews from the UK’s top publications. It has just been announced that in 2015 Ms. Farber will be directing Les Blancs by Lorraine Hansberry at the National Theatre in London. Originating Producer Poorna Jagannathan initiated and co-produced NIRBHAYA. She is an award-winning actress who has worked extensively in theatre, film and TV in India and in the US. She is best known to audiences for her movie Delhi Belly, produced by Aamir Khan, for which she won a Stardust and a L’Oréal Femina Award for best supporting actress in 2012.Ms. Jagannathan is a series regular on HBO’s new show, Crime. Film credits include Thanks for Sharingby Stuart Blumberg, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani by Ayan Mukerji and the soon to be released The Circle by James Ponsoldt and Good ‘Ol Boy by Frank Lotito. TV credits include House of Cards, Royal Pains, and Law & Order. After Nirbhaya, she produced an India tour of Martin Moran’s award-winning plays The Tricky Part and All the Rage, seeking to raise awareness of the much silenced epidemic of sexual violence among boys in India. Ms. Jagannathan is part of The Barrow Group in NYC and a brand ambassador for PETA. She was born in Tunisia and grew up in Ireland, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina and America. She has a degree in Journalism and Women’s Studies from the University of Maryland and currently lives in Los Angeles. She has been voted among the top 100 global Indians numerous times by Desiworld. NIRBHAYA is presented by Nightwood Theatre in association with Amnesty International’s Action Network for Women’s Human Rights. NIRBHAYA is an Assembly, Riverside Studios and Poorna Jagannathan production.
Tickets range from $20 to $45 and are available in person at the Harbourfront Centre Box Office, 231 Queens Quay West, over the telephone at 416.973.4000 or online at www.nightwoodtheatre.net.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: Tuesday – Saturday, 8PM; Sunday at 2PM
For more information on NIRBHAYA visit www.nirbhayatheplay.com
MEDIA CONTACT: Grant Ramsay E-mail: grant.ramsay@sympatico.ca Cell: 416.550.2051
