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Toronto, Canada – Earlier this week Why Not Theatre proudly announced that its monumental, two-part production, Mahabharata, will be included in Canadian Stage‘s highly anticipated 2024-2025 season. Canadian Stage Artistic Director Brendan Healy and Executive Director Monica Esteves revealed the company’s season lineup on March 25th, with Mahabharata: Karma (Part 1) and Mahabharata: Dharma (Part 2) slated for presentation from April 8-20, 2025 at Toronto’s Bluma Appel Theatre.

Created and written by Why Not Theatre Co-Artistic Directors Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes, Mahabharata is a contemporary take on a Sanskrit epic that is more than four thousand years old and foundational to South Asian culture. A visually-stunning spectacle presented over two parts, Mahabharata is captivating audiences worldwide with its gripping narrative and exploration of profound philosophical and spiritual ideas. Having garnered critical and public acclaim in 2023 during its world premiere at the Shaw Festival and its sold-out run at the Barbican, London, the production now makes its way home – promising to bring Toronto audiences what The Telegraph describes as “an extraordinarily dazzling piece of theatre”. 

Karma (Part 1) is the origin story of the rival Pandava and Kaurava clans, illuminating themes of storytelling, ecocide, and empathy, and featuring an international ensemble of 20 actors, dancers and live musicians. Dharma (Part 2) continues the story from Part 1, interrogating themes of justice and revenge, and including a 15-minute Sanskrit opera adaptation of the Bhagavad Gita – the most famous chapter of The Mahabharata epic.

Reflecting on the journey of bringing this ambitious production to the stage, Why Not Co-Artistic Directors Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes said, “The seed of Mahabharata dates back to 2015, when Why Not adapted the Bhagavad Gita as a commission for the Pan Am Games in Toronto. Over the span of a decade, this initial spark of inspiration evolved into a truly monumental artistic endeavour featuring artists from across the international South Asian diaspora. As we prepare to bring Mahabharata home to Toronto, we reflect on the personally transformative journey this historic adaptation represents, rooted in the timeless wisdom of ancient storytelling but uncannily resonant to our current day.”

Why Not Theatre and Canadian Stage last collaborated on the 2019 run of Why Not’s groundbreaking bilingual English-ASL Prince Hamlet. Speaking about the relationship, Karen Tisch, Executive Director of Why Not Theatre, said, “We are delighted to be partnering once again with Canadian Stage for the Toronto run of Mahabharata. The opportunity to share this epic work with our local audiences, and especially those who missed its premiere in Niagara-on-the-Lake, is exhilarating and timely. We look forward to continuing our fruitful partnership with Canadian Stage as Mahabharata closes the company’s exciting 2024-2025 season.”

Performance Details

MAHABHARATA

A Why Not Theatre Production presented by Canadian Stage with Why Not Theatre
Created and written by Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes
Using poetry from Carole Satyamurti’s Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling
Directed by Ravi Jain
With associate director Miriam Fernandes

Mahabharata: Karma (Part 1)
April 8 — 19, 2025
Bluma Appel Theatre
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Mahabharata: Dharma (Part 2)
April 11 — 20, 2025
Bluma Appel Theatre
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Creative Team

Lorenzo Savoini, Set Designer
Gillian Gallow, Costume Designer
Kevin Lamotte, Lighting Designer
Mikael Kangas, Associate Lighting Designer
Hana S. Kim, Projection Designer
Ann Slote, Associate Projections Designer
John Gzowski and Suba Sankaran, Original Music and Sound Design
Hasheel Lodhia, Traditional Music Consultant
Brandy Leary, Choreographer, with contributions from Jay Emmanuel and Ellora Patnaik
Sharada K Eswar, Creative Associate, Khana & Kahani Storyteller
Kevin Matthew Wong, Lead Producer
Crystal Lee, Production Manager
Karen Tisch, Why Not Theatre Executive Director

Season subscriptions for Canadian Stage’s 2024-2025 season will be available starting March 28, with details on single tickets to follow.

For more information about Mahabharata, visit whynot.theatre/mahabharata

Mahabharata was originally commissioned and presented by the Shaw Festival, in association with the Barbican, London. The Toronto run of Mahabharata is presented by Canadian Stage, whose underwriters include David W. Binet and Alexandra Baillie, and by Why Not Theatre, with support from the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity. The production was made possible by the generosity of the Shaw Festival, Canada Council for the Arts, Canada’s National Arts Centre and its National Creation Fund, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, The Slaight Family Foundation, Kingfisher Foundation, Deb Barrett & Jim Leech, Lindy Green Family Foundation, Wuchien Michael Than Foundation, and TO Live.

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For media inquiries, interviews, or additional information, please contact:

Suzanne Cheriton
[email protected]

About Why Not Theatre:

Founded in 2007, Why Not Theatre is a Toronto-based theatre company with an international scope. Dedicated to rethinking how stories are told and who gets to tell them, Why Not has established a reputation for inventive and cross-cultural collaborations. Over 16 years, Why Not has developed 55 new works, which have toured to over 40 cities and 81 stops, including the world-wide hit A Brimful of Asha, performed more than 300 times globally, and the critically-acclaimed Mahabharata. The company is led by Co-Artistic Directors Miriam Fernandes and Ravi Jain and Executive Director Karen Tisch.