Capital’s own West End?
13 July 2013 12:14 AM GMT
Short+Sweet Delhi theatre festival launches its 2013 season with a curtain raiser on 13 July in Akshara Theater. Staging eight famous ten minute long plays from the last few seasons, the festival will revive its charm before stepping onto a new journey. Millennium Post catches up with Zorian Cross, who will be featuring in two of these plays, The Coming Out and The Importance of a Hat.
Walk us through the journey of the Zorian Cross production.
I have been actively involved in theatre since the past five years. I was awarded as the best new talent in Short+Sweet festival, 2011. One of my biggest ambitions is to do things that are different, the things that set us apart. Having written and performed plays made me realise that we need to build an international standard of theatre in Delhi. That’s how Zorian Cross production came into being in 2013. Starting with the idea of promoting original works and newer talents, we have pooled up a team of incredibly talented people.
Game Night, your first play as a group touched upon a poignant theme by dealing with LGBT issues. What prompted you to debut with it?
With my writing and acts, I want to sensitise audience to significant issues- not in a didactic and preachy manner but with a touch of humour. I have been a gay person out in the public eye by advocating gay rights over the years. Even in the first play that I wrote, The Coming Out, I talked about it ; this in a way shows my journey. Think of it from this perspective: had people not portrayed Holocaust or the plight of black people, would things have changed?
And how do people react to such issues?
I remember an 80-year-old woman coming up to me after watching The Coming Out in 2011. She told me that two weeks ago her granddaughter had confided to her that she was a lesbian. The play made her understand and accept that aspect of her granddaughter’s life.
When you put a disclaimer that your plays are not for conservatives or youngsters below 16, don’t you limit your audience?
We are a global nation, so English should be the last thing that restricts our audience. Having put Game Night in a contemporary world setting, without giving it the name of a city, we made our audience- people from Germany’s embassy to the one’s from Indore- relate to our characters set in a modern world. I think, that is far better than regionalising our acts.
What’s the road ahead for the group?
This September we will be staging a play that is way different from the fast paced comedy of Game Night. This time around we will be showcasing a dark drama that deals with the human nature.
Walk us through the journey of the Zorian Cross production.
I have been actively involved in theatre since the past five years. I was awarded as the best new talent in Short+Sweet festival, 2011. One of my biggest ambitions is to do things that are different, the things that set us apart. Having written and performed plays made me realise that we need to build an international standard of theatre in Delhi. That’s how Zorian Cross production came into being in 2013. Starting with the idea of promoting original works and newer talents, we have pooled up a team of incredibly talented people.
Game Night, your first play as a group touched upon a poignant theme by dealing with LGBT issues. What prompted you to debut with it?
With my writing and acts, I want to sensitise audience to significant issues- not in a didactic and preachy manner but with a touch of humour. I have been a gay person out in the public eye by advocating gay rights over the years. Even in the first play that I wrote, The Coming Out, I talked about it ; this in a way shows my journey. Think of it from this perspective: had people not portrayed Holocaust or the plight of black people, would things have changed?
And how do people react to such issues?
I remember an 80-year-old woman coming up to me after watching The Coming Out in 2011. She told me that two weeks ago her granddaughter had confided to her that she was a lesbian. The play made her understand and accept that aspect of her granddaughter’s life.
When you put a disclaimer that your plays are not for conservatives or youngsters below 16, don’t you limit your audience?
We are a global nation, so English should be the last thing that restricts our audience. Having put Game Night in a contemporary world setting, without giving it the name of a city, we made our audience- people from Germany’s embassy to the one’s from Indore- relate to our characters set in a modern world. I think, that is far better than regionalising our acts.
What’s the road ahead for the group?
This September we will be staging a play that is way different from the fast paced comedy of Game Night. This time around we will be showcasing a dark drama that deals with the human nature.
Next Story
