Off-Kendrik, a Greater Boston-based non-profit theater group, organized the South Asian American Theater (SAATh) Festival on September 20-22 at the Mosesian Center for Arts, Watertown, MA. This one-of-a-kind event was a grand celebration of diversity of South Asian and Asian cultures through theater. This was the third iteration of this unique celebration of South Asian theater in the US. This year, there were ten plays in five different languages including Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Hindi and English with supertitles in English to make it accessible to a diverse audience. Over the last 3 years, the festival has grown in strength and reputation. The community turned out in force to support ethnic theater, with over 600 theater lovers from New England enjoying the plays on offer.

This year, the organizers focused on local theater groups that showcased important and original work. The festival kicked off on Friday, September 20, with two Marathi plays: Kafir, by Jilebee Arts, and Around the Globe, staged by Kalashri of Boston. In Kafir, the author and director Sudhanwa Agawekar presented a meaningful story of trust and distrust in the backdrop of ongoing terrorism in Kashmir. This deep and somber play was followed by a hilarious science fiction novel written by renowned Marathi Sci-Fi writer, Laxman Londhe, and directed by his daughter Rucha Londhe. Around the Globe, an engaging, sharp, innovative, and well-presented comedy, narrated the story of fulfilment of a common man’s dream through technology.

Saturday, September 21, commenced with another Marathi play, Drushti, by Anubhuti, a New Jersey-based theater group. Authored by Yogesh Soman and directed by Sanjay Shetye, Drushti was a story of building confidence and dependency between a teacher and student, both visually challenged. The seamless execution and convincing portrayal of the characters in this thought-provoking, two-character play created empathy and a deep connection of the audience with the characters in the play. This was followed by a lively seminar on “Connecting South Asian, Asian and other minority communities through Progressive theater” with artists from New England and New York sharing their experience.  An English play, Madho from the Almast Media (Sikh foundation) followed the seminar. Madho, a musical presentation with enchanting kafi’s, fictionalized the life of a sixteenth century Sufi poet, Madho Lal Hussain. The play created mystic romanticism amidst the complexities of caste, religion, gender, and sexuality. The vocalists and musicians created a spell with their heart-wrenching melodies. The narrator, playing Maqbool, held the audience captivated with his skillful storytelling.

The final half had a one person play reading, And Then I Met You, by Hypokrit Live Arts, New York. Directed by Arpita Mukherjee and Neil Gupta, the play was a satirical and unconventional presentation of a young New Yorker woman’s dating journey. This was followed by a Bengali play, An (Extra)Ordinary Incident by ENAD, Boston. Written and Directed by Shanto Ghosh, the play depicted how an apparently innocent interaction between an acting-school teacher and his student is followed by harassment complaints by the student, leading to life changing consequences. The play, with its crisp storyline, sharp dialogues and convincing performances raised several questions on rights and wrongs and left a long-lasting effect on the audience on the perspectives that alter these.

Sunday showcased four more plays by local theater groups. The first was in Hindi, a gripping drama on military justice, Court Martial, written by Swadesh Deepak, directed by Madhu Nene and presented by Natyaranga and StorySunao. This on-stage courtroom trial came alive with superb performances by the actors, and the audience remained glued to their seats as the story unfolded unexpected twists of personal vengeance, taboos, social injustice, and casteism. This was followed by Yakshagana, a folk theater in Kannada, by Yaksha-Loka Boston. This unique theater art from Karnataka, India, narrated the endearing mythological story of love between two brothers, the mischievous Krishna and Balarama, through songs, dances and narration. With its elaborate and colorful costumes, authentic make-up, extemporaneous dialogs, interspersed with ethnic dance and songs, Yakshagana was a vibrant theater art presentation.