Sharanya has been awarded the IFA Arts Research Grant in 2021, and the Reframe Fellowship and Shankar Nag Theatre Award in 2022.

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What drove you to theatre, and what interests you about it?

I am a playwright and director in the theatre – while these are solitary pursuits, being in the theatre doesn’t allow me that luxury.  I am simultaneously researcher, producer, actor, chai maker, agony aunt, therapist, set designer, cast party thrower – and the theatre demands that you are all of these things.

The Nava Team

It is an art form where community is at the centre of what we do – we hone our craft by challenging community while demanding it understands us. At our worst and at our best.

Project Darling was born from your research of the fascinating, unexplored world of Kannada theatre’s female artists and specifically features Khanavali Chenni, who used comedy to take on patriarchy. What did you discover during the process of creating this, and how has it impacted you as an artist and person?

That notions of what is vulgarity and what is respectability for the female performing body is in reverse. It is society’s notion of respectability which is truly vulgar.

That placing your truth at the centre of your art is a delightful disruption for a society that counts on your silence.

To embrace my vulgarity has been a call from my ancestors – most women I researched and fell in love with were of the ‘vulgar’ variety.

Female performing bodies are constantly ‘performing’ in real life. So what does ‘acting’ on stage mean? Chenni helped me find a post-modern feminist theatre which is home-grown disruption of the patriarchal theatre.

Chenni taught me that to enjoy your life is the real rebellion.

What have been some of the greatest lessons of your professional journey so far?

1. That there is no solo show. We depend on each other.

2. I have learnt to take my time to make my art. Deeply engaging with what moves me is the starting point for all my work.

3. I have learnt my anger, my rage, my joy is shared, multiplied and given back to me by the right artists, people, audience, peers. But one has to wait. Darkness is part of the learning. Joy is a birth right. So is leisure.

4. Interesting art has to be a by-product of living an interesting life.

5. To be relentless in one’s search of one’s heart. To have the rigor to challenge my truth and disrupt my ideas before I decide to disrupt society.

What advice would you give to young folks seeking to pursue theatre?

It’s a tough ride. But we don’t do this because it's easy. Seriously, find a side hustle.

Lastly, be willing to break your heart, but keep it open. Hop on!

Akshayambara