This project has been a watershed moment for Prayas in its journey of last 14 years, giving us the opportunity to take our work to an established venue and showcasing our work to a whole new mainstream theatre-going audience. Over the duration of 3 weeks and 25 shows, 8,163 audience members witnessed the show at Q Theatre at 90%+ capacity.
Synopsis:
In 1975, a struggling Parsi widow, determined to keep her independence, sets up shop in a tiny apartment, hiring two Hindu tailors and taking on a boarder to make ends meet. From this unlikely gathering of strangers, an accidental family forms, each member fleeing the bondage of their past while creating rich – yet perilous – new bonds over their shared experience of a country in political flux.
Based on Rohinton Mistry’s celebrated, Booker-shortlisted novel, A Fine Balance is a sweeping panorama of India’s tumultuous State of Emergency, punctuated with breathtaking moments of human compassion, spirit and heroism.
A monumental saga of ordinary people resilient through extraordinary change, this vibrant and thought-provoking play sees history come to life – and the stories of the voiceless resonate more powerfully than ever.
Director: Ahi Karunaharan
Set Designer: Micheal McCabe
Lighting Designer: Tim Williams
Costume Designer: Padma Akula
Sound Designer: Ritesh Vaghela
Movement Director: Tupua Tigafua
Assistant Director: Sananda Chatterjee
Puppet Maker: Paul Lewis
Aman Bajaj
Ankita Singh
Ayesha Heble
Bala Murali Shingade
Dylan Thuraisingham
Gayatri Adi
Jatinder Singh
Kalyani Nagarajan
Rashmi Pilapitiya
Ravikanth Gurunathan
Maulik Thakkar
Mayen Mehta
Mel Odedra
Mustaq Missouri
Rishabh Kapoor
Roxanne Sarkari
Sneha Shetty
Vishal Patil
“Prayas Theatre have been one of the leading lights of the Auckland Theatre scene for the past few years. Their works have moved into more mainstream and alternative theatre spaces, including multiple sell-out seasons at The Basement Theatre (and I mean real sell-out seasons, the kind of seasons that sell out before they open).”
“There is something epic about the play – its scope demands a kind of distance from audiences to appreciate how power and politics are constructed and deployed…Above all, this production stands as a testament to a strong and meaningful collaboration between Auckland Theatre Company and Prayas – a South Asian community theatre company…”
“Excellently adapted by Sudha Bhuchar & Kristine Landon-Smith for the stage, & confidently directed by Ahi Karunaharan, A Fine Balance embraces a top-class all-Asian ensemble. Combined with Q’s unique setting (a centred performance area with the audience built around it), this is live theatre at its best.”
“Auckland is one of the most multicultural cities in the world and if this offering is going to be the benchmark of quality for future collaborations with other creative energies then we are in for theatrical treats. Go see it.”
“This immersive two-hour tale is an eye-opener into a different culture and a different world. With loveable characters who, despite being separated by thousands of kilometers and 40 years from their 2019 Auckland viewers, have an instant connection with the audience. This isn’t a show to be missed…”
“The cast of 18 showcase the strength, diversity and skill of Aotearoa’s South-East Asian theatre community and deserve to be lauded…
The team, including assistant director Sananda Chatterjee and costume designer Padma Akula, join Karunaharan in showcasing quality talent offstage…”
We’re excited to share our podcast series Script to Stage, presented by Auckland Theatre Company and Prayas! Join the makers behind A Fine Balance in four episodes to find out all about the history and the making of the show.
