(Press Release) Step into the minds of Joyce's Dublin – James Joyce Immersive by Kaivalya Plays Foundation

A year-long series of immersive audio-visual experiences launching on Bloomsday 2025, bringing the inner worlds of Dubliners to life in contemporary India.

On June 15, 2025—Bloomsday—Kaivalya Plays and the Embassy of Ireland in New Delhi will launch James Joyce Immersive, a groundbreaking year-long Irish literature cultural programme with a strong but not exclusive emphasis on one of Ireland’s most famous writers, James Joyce.

The initial offering will transform three short stories from James Joyce's Dubliners into multi-sensory theatrical experiences. The inaugural event takes place at the prestigious Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, marking the beginning of an innovative journey through the psychological landscapes of Joyce's characters.

The James Joyce Immersive presents three distinct experiences based on "Eveline," "Counterparts," and "Araby"—stories that capture the essence of Joyce's genius for inhabiting the minds of his characters. Through intimate dramatized readings, immersive audio-visual installations, and innovative staging, audiences will step inside the consciousness of Joyce's Dubliners, experiencing their internal struggles, dreams, and moments of revelation as if from within.

The programme unfolds across three phases between June 2025 and March 2026. Phase 1 features live dramatized readings in intimate community spaces. Phase 2 transforms these stories into immersive audio-visual installations, incorporating cutting-edge technology to create multi-sensory environments that will tour Delhi, Mumbai, and Nagaland. Phase 3 culminates with a full-length production of Brian Friel's "Translations," exploring themes of language, identity, and cultural transformation that echo Joyce's own preoccupations.

Speaking about the collaboration, Ambassador Kevin Kelly said

“The Embassy of Ireland in India is delighted to announce the launch of an year-round James Joyce immersive in 2025 in partnership with Kaivalya Plays. Joyce is not only a force of literature but a synonym for all that becomes Irish history and culture”. The partnership represents a significant investment in Ireland's cultural diplomacy in India, recognizing the power of Joyce's work to build bridges between Irish and Indian artistic communities.  Following on from the focus on James Joyce I am delighted that the programme will include a celebration of other famous Irish writers, including Brian Friel”

He went onto say:

“The James Joyce Immersive premieres at a moment when Joyce's exploration of consciousness, alienation, and the search for meaning feels particularly relevant. In an age of rapid change and digital transformation, his characters' internal struggles—their moments of clarity and confusion, hope and despair—continue to resonate with contemporary audiences seeking to understand their place in an evolving world.”

Additional Background Notes to Editors:

The choice of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art as the venue underscores the programme's commitment to presenting literature as a living, visual art form that speaks across cultures and centuries.

The programme opens with "Eveline," Joyce's masterful portrait of a young woman in 1904 Dublin caught between the safety of tradition and the promise of freedom. As Eveline sits by her window contemplating escape with her lover Frank to Buenos Aires, her internal paralysis becomes a mirror for Ireland itself—a country suspended between its past and an uncertain future. Her inability to choose speaks to something universal about the human condition, while capturing the specific mood of a nation in transition. Director and Kaivalya Plays founder, Varoon P. Anand, explains, "Eveline's story resonates powerfully in contemporary India. Her struggle between duty and desire, tradition and transformation, speaks to anyone who has stood at the threshold of change, unable to move forward or back."

What makes Dubliners extraordinary is Joyce's ability to slip seamlessly into the consciousness of his characters—the frustrated clerk Farrington in "Counterparts," the romantic young narrator of "Araby." Joyce doesn't just tell their stories; he becomes them, revealing the rich inner lives of ordinary people navigating the complexities of modern urban existence. James Joyce Immersive translates this psychological intimacy into theatrical form, using sound, light, projection mapping, and performance to create spaces where audiences can experience these internal worlds firsthand.

This collaboration builds on Ireland's growing cultural presence in India and Kaivalya Plays' decade-long commitment to bringing international literary voices to Indian audiences. Since 2012, the company has specialized in transcultural adaptations, previously working with embassies and cultural institutions to stage works from Latin America, Spain, and Peru. Their innovative approach to digital and immersive theatre—demonstrated in acclaimed productions like “I, JOSEF”, "Lifeline 99 99" and "Ollantay"—makes them uniquely suited to translate Joyce's stream-of-consciousness narratives into contemporary theatrical language.

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DATES & TICKETS

 Sunday, June 15th

 7:00 PM onwards

 KNMA, Saket

 RSVP: EventsNewDelhi@dfa.ie

MEDIA & IMAGES

All images and media materials available at: LINK

CREATIVE TEAM

Artistic Direction: Kaivalya Plays Foundation

Partnership: Embassy of Ireland in New Delhi

Venue Partner: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art

Direction and Design by Varoon P. Anand

Eveline, voiced by Kriti Pant

Sound Design by Anirbaan Gosh (Baan G)

Video Design and Production Management by Gaurav Singh Nijjer

Technical assistance by Riddhijit Chattopadhyay, Kamlesh Bourai and Shivani

We would like to thank Ambassdor Kevin Kelly, Sophie Rogan, Armaan Srivastava, Shriya Singh at the Embassy of Ireland in New Delhi for their collaboration and guidance; Divjyot Singh, Ajay Mathews and Rishabh Kakar and other staff members at Kiran Nadar Museum of the Art (KNMA) for their support and Mool for opening up their space to us.  

ABOUT KAIVALYA PLAYS

Founded in 2012, Kaivalya Plays specializes in innovative theatrical adaptations of international literature. Based in New Delhi, the company has pioneered new forms of digital and immersive theatre, bringing global voices to Indian audiences through transcultural collaboration. Their artistic work includes original, devised theatre performances that are multilingual, interactive, and hybrid, use technology and media on stage, and are built using techniques of improvisational, documentary, and physical theatre. Through a focus on education, training and community, their work spans diverse offerings of programs across artistic development, language learning, mental health, gender, accessibility, and transcultural collaboration. Their work has been featured in major Indian publications and has toured internationally. Most recently, they were recipients of the Creativity Pioneers Award by the Moleskine Foundation. 

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James Joyce Immersive is supported by the Embassy of Ireland in New Delhi and the premiere is presented in collaboration with Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.