2025
Pitara — A Box of Memories
Prayas Theatre’s 20th anniversary celebration — a curated collection of the most loved scenes from 20 years of South Asian theatre.
Learn More →From intimate one-act performances to full-scale theatrical productions, Prayas brings South Asian stories to life on New Zealand stages. Explore our body of work spanning two decades.
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2025
Prayas Theatre’s 20th anniversary celebration — a curated collection of the most loved scenes from 20 years of South Asian theatre.
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2024
A mixed platter of theatre, poetry, stand-up comedy, monologues, music, Kathak and Bharatanatyam — something for everyone at Basement Theatre.
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2023
A 5th-century Sanskrit love story and political satire — one of India’s most enduring works, staged at TAPAC with a cast of 16.
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2022
King Lear meets The Cherry Orchard in this Chicago story of fathers and daughters, legacy, and survival — set in a Sindhi restaurant on Devon Avenue.
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2021
Your favourite subversive South Asian anthology which returns this year with a brand-new collection of bite-sized plays. After two sell-out seasons, P
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2020
Two imperial guards are charged with protecting an iconic landmark. A water-deprived village receives a curious new resident. A group of women introsp
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2020
Featuring: Ahi Karunaharan | Mayur Tendulkar | Kim Gruebner | Karen Plimmer | Ganesh Bhosale | Ritesh Vaghela | Otis Donovan Herring | Pacific Dance |
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2019
Prayas is back with twice as many problems than you can throw dry rice at. Not-so-subtle curry traits burst onto the Basement Stage with all the techn
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2019
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 venu
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2018
From nagging aunties, Tinder dating and curfews at 30 – FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS lift the lid on the real South Asian struggle in Aotearoa.
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2018
Prayas brought to stage Mughal India of 1659. The imperial court, a place of opulence and excess — music, drugs, eunuchs, and elephants. A sweeping dr
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2017
A fortune teller, a flower seller, a runaway bride and a dozen villagers breaking into traditional dance and singing folk songs formed the core of a g
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2017
From the first Indians to arrive in Aotearoa 150 years ago, Prayas followed their tracks through the generations. A deeply personal exploration of mig
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2016
For the first time in their rich 11-year history, Prayas Theatre presented a full blown comedy. A story about love, relationships, and the beautiful m
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2015
A young expatriate from New Zealand returns to his family home in Sri Lanka to discover tragedy — his ancestral village destroyed. A story of loss, di
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2015
1975. An unnamed city by the sea. The Indian government has just declared a State of Emergency. Adapted from Rohinton Mistry's beloved novel — the fir
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2013
After a successful season in 2012, Prayas was invited by The Edge to run a second season of Rudali at the prestigious Herald Theatre. A powerful story
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2013
A platter of sizzling short plays as part of the Auckland Fringe Festival. Multiple voices, multiple stories, one unforgettable evening.
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2012
By special invitation from Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) Prayas gathered a troupe of twenty actors to present a unique eve
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2011
The story of Ganges was presented at the Auckland Museum as a vibrant mix of narrative, dance and folk music by Prayas performers.
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2011
Highlighting one of India's finest legends — Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. A theatrical exploration of Tagore's work marking the 150th anniversa
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2010
Prayas showcased ‘Beyond the Land of Hattamala’ at the Random Acts of Christmas Programme over 6 days and a total of 12 shows!
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2010
Two likeable thieves jump into a river to escape being caught. After a routine heist goes awry, they jump across to a fantastical land where nothing i
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2009
Uttam and Lakshan [Bapi] Das Baul, son of the well known Devdas Baul were visiting Aotearoa as part of the installation of the Holiwater project’s fea
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2009
Based on one of Rohinton Mistry's short stories, exploring the problem of a migrant from India who moved to Canada — a story of displacement, identity
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2008
Created in partnership with Auckland City Council as part of the Wesley Community Project, where young people from the local community explored themes
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2007
A contemporary Indian play in English, performed over three nights in October 2007. Prayas broke away from the folk theatre format to explore modern u
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2005
Prayas' maiden play — a folk tale about an honest thief who can never tell a lie. First performed in 2005, brought back in 2006 and again in 2014 with
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