Mahabharata: Adapting Ancient Myth for Modern Theatre

Devdutt Pattanaik in conversation with Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes.

Presented by Why Not Theatre, Shaw Festival and Canadian Opera Company.

Join us for a conversation with famed mythologist, author, and illustrator Devdutt Pattanaik and theatre artists and writers Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes for a deep dive into the world of the Mahabharata through the lens of Jain and Fernandes’ stage adaptation of the ancient text. The conversation will speak to the relevance and importance of these myths in our modern world and how these epic stories can help us unpack the chaos around us. Why Not Theatre’s new theatrical adaptation of the Mahabharata takes a modern twist on the ancient Indian epic, with the session also providing a sneak peek into the process of creating the show as well as its Bhagavad Gita mini-opera.

Mahabharata was commissioned by the Shaw Festival and the World Premiere will be presented by the Shaw in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada. The Bhagavad Gita was developed with the support of a Creative Residency at the Canadian Opera Company.

This episode is the audio version of a live online session from #JLFToronto2020.