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.
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.
What People Said
“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.”