join the mahabharata circle
help bring mahabharata to the world stage!
“When I was starting out in theatre school, dreaming about one day launching a theatre company, it looked a lot like the company that Why Not Theatre is right now; or rather the company we are about to be. Premiering the Mahabharata at the Shaw Festival and touring to the world-renowned Barbican Centre, is that dream come true.
It took 15 years of hard work, innovation, risk-taking and support to get us here. Support from people who came to shows, cheered us on from the sidelines and helped us to dream big. Now that we are at this pivotal moment in our company’s artistic journey, making an important step on to the world stage, we are looking to leaders within our community to help get us there.
We hope you will join our Mahabharata Circle, and together we can share this history-making project with the world.”
Ravi Jain
Founder & Co-Artistic Director
Why Not Theatre
The Mahabharata is a Sanskrit epic, the story of a divided family whose conflict results in a catastrophic war that ends the world. It is over 4,000 years old with more than 100,000 verses that shape many of the myths and philosophies of Indian culture. To this day, the stories are told in the kitchens and temples of more than 1 billion people of India, as well as the diaspora around the world.
Incorporating two large-scale theatre works (Karma, Dharma) bridged by a community meal (Khana), Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata is a visually-stunning spectacle that brings audiences on a journey through the past in order to write a thrilling new future.
The production will premiere March 9th, 2023 at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Canada and will tour to the prestigious Barbican, London in Fall 2023.
mahabharata circle benefits
Benefits by Circle Level |
Seva:
|
Karma:
|
Dharma:
|
| Tickets to opening weekend performances of Mahabharata at Shaw Festival on Thursday, March 9, 2023 (Part 1: Karma at 1pm and Part 2: Dharma at 7pm) *OR tickets to Part 1: Karma and Part 2: Dharma on any other day of the run |
Up to 2 per performance | Up to 4 per performance | Up to 4 per performance |
| Thank you in house program at Shaw Festival | Y | Y | Y |
| Thank you on the Why Not Theatre website | Y | Y | Y |
| Tax receipt for maximum eligible amount | Y | Y | Y |
| Invitations to opening weekend Khana (community meal) on March 9 at 4:30 pm
*OR tickets to Khana on any other day of the run |
Up to 4 | Up to 4 | |
| Invitations to Mahabharata Tour Send-Off Event in Toronto, in Spring 2023 | 2 invitations | 4 invitations | 4 invitations |
| Thank you from the stage at a Mahabharata Tour Send-Off Event in Toronto in Spring 2023 | Y | Y | |
| A special commemorative gift | Y | Y | |
| Thank you from stage at Opening and Closing Night performances at the Shaw Festival in March 2023 | Y | ||
| Thank you and recognition as host of one evening’s Khana community meal at Shaw Festival | Y | ||
| Invitation for two to join us at the Barbican Centre in London for the UK premiere of Mahabharata, September 2023** |
Y | ||
| Invitations to tour the Barbican Centre and special behind-the-scenes experience in London** | Y | ||
| Invitation to the exclusive Opening Reception in London in Fall 2023** | Y |
**Performance tickets and events will be complimentary; travel and accommodation not included.
mahabharata circle benefits
Canadian Charitable Number: 828087932RR0001
Photography credits in order of appearance:
1. Ravi Jain. 2. Jay Emmanuel. 3. Miriam Fernandes & Jay Emmanuel. 4. Harmage Singh Kalirai. Images by Dahlia Katz (Mahabharata Workshop, 2019). Mahabharata Trailer thumbnail design by Key Gordon.
major giving and corporate sponsorship
Major giving ($25,000+) and corporate sponsorship opportunities are also available, with tailored benefits, recognition, and naming opportunities.
For more information, contact Karen Tisch, Executive Director at
[email protected].
