Take a wild ride to paradise with Indian Ink’s powerful new play about impermanence – of life, love… and ice cream!
Kutisar is dead and lost between paradise and hell. A cantankerous vulture keeps harassing him, and a lover from his past holds the key to his salvation. On an existential post-mortem journey to correct mistakes of his past, Kutisar joins the feisty Meera on a madcap quest to save the critically endangered vultures that play a vital role in Parsi sky burials.
Inspired by Ernest Becker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning treatise The Denial of Death and infused with laughter, Paradise… blows your mind while melting your heart faster than an ice cream on a Mumbai summer day.
Supported by an immersive sound design, Jacob Rajan delivers a wildly versatile solo performance playing seven characters, including the bumbling Kutisar, the buck-toothed hero of Rajan’s beloved The Guru of Chai.
Loaded with warmth and depth, Paradise… is a moving production that melds a dash of Bollywood disco and playful puppetry with thought-provoking musings on the eternal afterlife, the looming extinction of India’s sacred vultures, and the beauty and value of the fleeting and ephemeral.
Reviews
‘Funny and delightful… one of the best one-man performances you will see.’
TimeOut
‘Flawless… engaging, beyond anything I've ever seen.’
Theatrescenes (NZ)
Credits
Director Justin Lewis
Writers Jacob Rajan & Justin Lewis
Performers Jacob Rajan & Jon Coddington
Puppet Designer & Builder Jon Coddington
Production Manager & Lighting Designer D. Andrew Potvin
Sound Operator Adam Ogle
Dramaturge Murray Edmond
Set Designer John Verryt
Costume Designer Elizabeth Whiting
Composer David Ward
Projected Imagery Bala Murali Shingade
Photo John McDermott