A message from Lucy Rasheed, Actor

Indian Embrace is starting to develop into an intricate Varanasi sari. My character, Pamela Grenvel is a New York styled, business guru whose harsh brash (but lovable) tones vibrate on the baking Indian Bizarre. Whether it is business deals, family bonding or Pavlova coaching, her heart is set on perfection and she will stop at nothing to achieve this. But will the intoxication of the Ganges even knock Pamela of her well- planned perch?

A message from the director!

Rehearsals are well underway and the cast are enthusiastically embracing the script as they delve into the inner thoughts of their characters. I feel so privileged to be the first director working with Carol’s wonderful script! Carol is very open to subtle changes of dialogue that don’t hamper the progression of the storyline. In fact, she is usually delighted at the words that are literally “coming out of the mouths” of the actors as they discover their characters. It is certainly a thrill to be able to liaise so directly with the writer and to tap her thoughts whilst  simultaneously exploring my own vision of the play.

I have a production meeting with Richard Neville tomorrow. He has some very imaginative and exciting ideas about enhancing the set design with lighting. It is such a joyful process, bringing this beautiful story to life!

Lucy Rasheed as Pamela and Ambika Asthana as Roopa

Ambika Asthana as Roopa and Shashidhar Dandekar as Vikram

Postscript:

My meeting with Richard was a great success. He has brilliantly combined my thoughts and concepts  into an imaginative set that will powerfully evoke the sights and colours of India.

photos by Steven Menteith.

A message from Neel

I first met Lenore Robertson and Carol Dance in 2012 when I was cast as Vikram Singh in Roopa’s Goal, a play staged in the S+S Theatre Festival Sydney. The play explored various themes of migration in particular it highlighted whether the bitter sweet pain of migration- of leaving behind one’s birth place for the promise of greener pastures in their adopted homeland. Is really worth it in the end? 

Having worked with Lenore and Carol, I realised that we are bound by a common interest in cross-cultural story telling. Carol’s migration to Australia from her homeland of USA provided some of the inspiration for her writings. Lenore has a particular passion for working with cross- cultural themes and my own migration from India provided me the insight and first hand experience of synthesising the culture of my birth place with my adopted homeland. 

Having worked closely in Roopa’s Goal, an abridged version of the play, Indian Embrace sowed the seeds for us to come together again in bringing to our audiences for a season- long showcasing of  the full length play.With a matured casting list and a professional support team behind her, Lenore has taken a firm hold of the reins as Indian Embrace’s director. She has challenged the actors to authenticate the characterisation of their roles pushing the boundaries to bring to life on stage a story which will hold universal appeal to the audience. Lenore’s easy going style and down- to- earth personality is an asset to her directional ability. 

The presentation of the play will be intimate yet experimental. In this premiere performance, this  beautiful  story, with its  underlying themes of migration, co-existence and sustainability of culture will be  depicted in a very  meaningful context. The comic elements present in this play will leave an indelible mark on you. The story is timely, contemporary yet not clichéd. Indian Embrace’s fun filled scenes are well balanced with the dramatic elements that Carol has written. As an independent theatre production Nautanki Theatre’s endeavour of Indian Embrace must be watched, experienced, relished and reflected upon. We look forward to entertaining you.