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Translated and adapted for the Indian context, the play ‘Ollantay’ is set in the town of Cusco located in the Southern-Eastern part of Peru. The story centres on the life of Ollantay, a brave Incan warrior who serves under Pachacútec, the Inca of Cusco. He finds himself in an uncompromising situation where he must choose between his love and his duty. Little does Ollantay know that the choice that confronts him will affect the lives of everyone around him and threaten to disrupt the status quo. His is a harrowing tale about how the social construct plays a crucial role in every choice that one makes, and doesn’t.
Exploring themes of patriarchy, class and morality, the text weaves an intricate story based on pride, betrayal and love. The play takes on the narrative structure of an epic, depicting the promises on which the Incan culture was built and sustained. We draw parallels between the Indian subculture and how these ideas have existed in the Indian, as well as the Incan society, for centuries. This play takes on the narrative structure of an Epic, depicting the premises on which the Incan Culture was built. It likens itself to the Indian Sub-Culture and how these concepts have existed in the Indian, as well as, Incan Society for centuries.
This show was commissioned by the Embassy of Peru in India and supported by the Instituto Cervantes Nueva Delhi. The production was shot in September 2021 with social distancing protocols, having been rehearsed and developed remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
About The Show
Partners & Collaborators
About Embassy of Peru in India
Kaivalya Plays is partnering with the Embassy of Peru in India with whose support and guidance this project has been made possible.
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The Embassy of Peru in India serves to grow bilateral ties and the diplomatic mission between the two countries. Led by the ambassador of Peru in India H.E. Carlos Polo, the institution is dedicated to the growth and celebration of Peruvian culture and traditions through its extensive public programs. The Embassy additional serves Peru's diplomatic missions in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
About Instituto Cervantes Nueva Delhi
Kaivalya Plays is partnering with the Embassy of Peru in India with whose support and guidance this project has been made possible.
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The Instituto Cervantes is a public institution founded in 1991 by the Government of Spain, with the aim of promoting Spanish language teaching, and fostering knowledge of Spanish and Hispanic American culture. Currently, the Institute has 78 centres located in 44 countries. Its main headquarters are in Madrid and in Alcalá de Henares, the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes. Since its inception, the Nueva Delhi centre has encouraged the growth of Indo-Spanish bilateral relationships, including the growth and celebration of arts, culture and allied initiatives through its dedicated cultural programming.
About Kaivalya Plays
Kaivalya Plays is a Delhi-based collective of independent theatre practitioners led by Varoon P. Anand as its Artistic Director and Gaurav Singh Nijjer as General Manager.
Since 2012, Kaivalya Plays has brought works by many Latin American authors to the Indian stage and has frequently collaborated with institutions like Instituto Cervantes Nueva Delhi and the Embassies of Argentina, Spain and Ecuador in India. They have adapted and staged texts by Julio Cortazar (Goodbye Robinson), Jorge Luis Borges (El Aleph, Blue Tigers, The Sand Book, Funes the Memorious), Pablo Palacio (A Man Kicked To Death), Alvaro Desleal (Luz Negra) and Griselda Gambaro (Say Yes).
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Ollantay is their twelvth theatrical project with its roots in Latinamerican arts and culture.
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Creative Team
Abhinav Kaushal
Performer
Abhinav Kaushal is a Delhi-based writer of Latinamerican culture and history, as well as a freelance Spanish language instructor. He's performed plays in Spanish with Kaivalya Plays and El Clavileno, combining his love for the language and the stage. He has previously served as an Associate Editor of the international affairs magazine The Kootneeti and is currently living in Spain as a language and cultural assistant.
Gurpreet Singh
Performer
Gurpreet Singh is a Delhi-based Spanish language teacher and recruiter. With an undergraduate degree in journalism and mass communication, he worked as a language executive and recruiter with iEnergizer and SVAM International, as well as a freelance language translator and instructor. He is presently based in Spain as a language and cultural assistant.
Vanshika Verma
Performer
Vanshika is an aspiring actor in love with the gritty world of theatre and a student who is currently pursuing a degree in Hons. English at University of Delhi. She currently works with Kaivalya Plays and El Clavileño - India’s only Spanish theatre group, and has acted in plays like “El cadaver del señor Garcia” and “Marta la piadosa” and and“ Funes el memorioso”.
Bhavya Rampal
Performer
Bhavya Rampal is a Delhi-based artist who has been trained by and worked with eminent theatre directors like Akhilesh Khanna, Sandeep Rawat, Rajesh Babbar and Kamal Kishore. He's performed for theatre companies like Samarth Theatre Group, Pratibimb Kala Darpan and Kaivalya Plays, among others. With an undergraduate degree in English, he recently completed his Masters in Performing Studies from Ambedkar University.
Nikie Bareja
Performer
Nikie Bareja is an artist based out of Delhi, currently pursuing her Post Graduate Diploma in FTII, Pune. She is also a trained Kathak dancer who graduated from St. Stephen’s College in 2019, where she acted and directed productions for the collegiate group The Shakespeare Society that went on to be showcased at the Indian Habitat Centre as part of the Old World Collegiate Theatre Festival, the Shakespeare Society of India as well as Insituto Cervantes.
Varoon P. Anand
Producer
Varoon P. Anand is a veteran cultural and arts manager focused on community building and theatre production based in New Delhi, India. As Artistic Director of Kaivalya Plays, Varoon received the inaugural Refunction grant from Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan (2019) for "Unravel", a Gender Bender grantee for performing arts by Sandbox Collective (2019) for "Aguebao", the only Indian ever selected to compete at the world's largest classical theatre festival, the Almagro Festival in Spain (2019) for "Marta la piadosa", multiple commissions from the embassies of Argentina, Ecuador, México, El Salvador, Peru and Spain.
Deepriya Nagi
Performer
Deepriya Nagi is a Delhi-based Spanish language translator and writer. After completing her undergraduate degree in Business Economics from Delhi University, she received her C1 Spanish language certification at the Instituto Cervantes in New Delhi as well as Instituto Caro y Cuervo in Bogota. She additionally worked as an assistant in the Embassy of Ecuador in India.
Raghav Seth
Co-Director, Performer
Raghav Seth is a BA Graduate in Theatre Studies, English and Psychology from CHRIST (Deemed to be University). He is trained in Western Theatre and has also developed a skill for voice acting. He also sings, writes poetry, and has recently got into rapping and film-making. He is a firm believer in growing in his fields and becoming better in his craft! He is a Creative Project Manager at Kaivalya Plays, working extensively across their improv offerings.
Vidur Sehgal
Performer
Vidur Sehgal is an actor and student who is currently pursuing a degree in business economics at University of Delhi. He has been involved in the Delhi theatre circuit for the last 3 years, having worked in various capacities as an actor, sound designer and stage manager for Kaivalya Plays, El Clavileño, QTP Entertainment and Barefoot Theatre.
Gaurav Singh
Technical Director
Gaurav Singh is a theatre-maker, improviser and arts manager whose artistic practice investigates live performance and audience-performer interactivity using technology and distanced composition. He is currently based in London where he is studying at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He is the General Manager at Kaivalya Plays (India) and the Communications Manager at The Nursery Theatre (UK). He received the prestigious Chevening India Scholarship (2020) as well as the Gender Bender (2019) grant.
Tariq Ahmed
Co-Director, Performer
Tariq is an actor, poet and a Spanish language teacher who tries to infuse his love for arts, languages and culture in his various associations with Kaivalya Plays, where he works as Creative Project Manager for their Spanish language projects. He is also a member of El Clavileño - India’s only Spanish theatre group, and has acted in plays like “El cadaver del señor Garcia” and “Marta la piadosa”, "Luz Negra" and and“ Funes el memorioso” that were developed with the support of Kaivalya Plays.
Full Credits
Originally Translation by Vikash Kumar Singh and Rishu Sharma
Revised Translation by Shayama Prasad Ganguly
Direction & Design by Raghav Seth and Tariq Ahmed
Produced & Camera Work by Varoon P. Anand
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Technical Direction by Gaurav Singh
Lighting by Varoon P. Anand, Chanchal and Krishna Kohli
Performances by Abhinav Kaushal, Bhavya Rampal, Deepriya Nagi, Gurpreet Singh, Nikie Bareja, Raghav Seth, Tariq Ahmed, Vidur Sehgal, Vanshika Verma
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Production & Research by Flora Stanley, Sofia Fernando, Vaishnavi Shenoy
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We would like to acknowledge the staff and team at Instituto Cervantes Nueva Delhi, especially Director Òscar Pujol Riembau and Cultural Manager Martí Bassets Claret for supporting this production.