JAMES JOYCE IMMERSIVE

Araby

The closing performance of Bloomsday Week at Triveni Kala Sangam. The final story in the James Joyce Immersive trilogy.

Step into the world of Irish writer James Joyce with the concluding chapter of a year-long programme that has reimagined Dubliners for contemporary Indian audiences, brought to life by Kaivalya Plays in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland.

About the Story

Araby is a coming-of-age story that centres on a young boy's infatuation, the loss of innocence, and the transition from romantic idealism to harsh reality. The boy promises to bring a gift from a bazaar called Araby for the girl he silently adores. His journey there, delayed and frustrated at every turn, ends not in triumph but in a shattering moment of self-awareness as he arrives to find the stalls closing and the lights going out.

About the Performace

A man sits in a chair with a book in his lap. Behind him, a large projection shows what appears to be his own point of view, looking down at the open pages. He begins to read. As he reads, the world of the story comes to life on the page itself. Characters, streets, and houses animate within the margins and between the lines of text. The boy, our protagonist, emerges from the words and begins to walk across the page: illustrated, sketched, animated, a figure born of ink and imagination. The reader does not enter the story. He remains seated throughout. His voice carries the narrative while the projection carries the imagination. This is what happens when we read. The flat text on a page becomes a world. This performance makes that private, invisible act visible.

About the Experience

The Shridharani Gallery is transformed for the evening into an immersive performance space. A projector mounted on the ceiling beams casts images onto the gallery's back wall. Four studio monitors positioned around the space create a surround sound environment. The audience sits within the installation, surrounded by the story. This is not traditional theatre. There is no stage. There is no barrier between performer and audience. You are inside the story.

Presented alongside JOYCEWALE: Retrospective Photo Essay by Mayank Austen Soofi, on display at the Shridharani Gallery throughout the week.

Details

• Date: Saturday 20 June 2026

• Doors: 6:45 PM

• Performance: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM (two stories performed back to back, no interval)

• Location: Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, 205 Tansen Marg, Mandi House

• Language: English

• Duration: Approximately 50 minutes

• Free entry with prior RSVP

• For ages 16+

Please aim to arrive by 6:45 PM. Seating is limited and on a first come, first served basis.

Part of James Joyce Immersive

James Joyce Immersive is a year-long cultural programme produced by Kaivalya Plays Foundation in partnership with the Embassy of Ireland in India. The programme reimagines James Joyce's Dubliners for contemporary Indian audiences through immersive, multilingual performances combining dramatized readings with projection mapping, spatial sound design, and live performance.

Since its launch on Bloomsday 2025, the programme has been presented at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Oddbird Theatre (Dhan Mill, Delhi), and the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland.

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About Kaivalya Plays

Kaivalya Plays is a New Delhi-based performing arts organisation led by Varoon P. Anand (Artistic Director) and Gaurav Singh Nijjer (General Manager). Since 2012, the organisation has built transcultural collaborations across India and internationally. Our work spans devised and multilingual theatre, improvisation, education, and community-based arts initiatives, with a strong focus on accessibility and creative confidence.