SPOTLIGHT
DARKROOM V4.0: AN IMMERSIVE SENSORY EXPERIENCE
Audience entry in Powai, near Mumbai, India, 2019.
Rangaai Theatre Company from India announced its debut in Toronto with Darkroom V4.0 – an immersive sensory experience – directed by Tushar Tukaram Dalvi.
This Mumbai-based theatre company has been pioneering immersive sensory theatre experiences since 2016 and is now bringing its unique approach to Canada. Darkroom V4.0 is a multi-lingual production that showcases a series of South Asian stories.
The name Darkroom V4.0 is inspired by the process of developing photographic films onto light-sensitive paper using various techniques. The performance takes place in a black box intimate theatre, where the audience’s psyche serves as the photographic paper. With the help of performers, musicians, makeup and lights, sound and smell, the audience experiences a development process that creates a distinctive twist on the art of storytelling.
The stories in Darkroom V4.0 cover themes such as loss, indignation, and the traumatic state of mind, with trigger warnings for stories of rape and child abuse. The production evokes Theatre of Cruelty and engages the audience in real-time.
The show is designed and directed by Tushar Tukaram Dalvi, with dramaturg by Akul Anandur, music by Akul Anandur and Tushar Dalvi, and props created and managed by Savita Gaykar. The cast includes Amlan Das, Pradeep Venkatesan, Sachin Gupta, Siddhesh Talpade, Shriyanshi Quanoongo, Shivam Dwivedi and Tushar Tukaram Dalvi.
The show features three-story segments, including:
Khol Do (1952), Saadat Hasan Manto, English/Urdu: Blindfolded sensory experience.
Choose A Story: Interactive micro-story segment.
Durga Poojo (a true story), Anonymous, English/Bengali: Theatre of Cruelty.
The director of Rangaai Theatre Company, Tushar Tukaram Dalvi, says, “I am super excited to present my work and to have the opportunity to represent the South Asian community in Toronto’s theatre scene. We are a team of first generation immigrants bringing our stories and our literature to the Canadian audience, and we are confident that Canada’s cosmopolitan population will surely love and enjoy our experience.”
Dalvi is a seasoned theatre practitioner from Mumbai, now residing in Toronto. He is a multi-disciplinary artiste who dabbles in acting, directing, light design, and film making. He has been acting on stage since 2006 and worked with noteworthy theatre directors in Mumbai. In 2016, he founded the Rangaai Theatre Company which specializes in creating immersive and sensory-based theatrical experiences for intimate and alternate spaces. His work tells compelling stories reflecting contemporary social issues by interweaving fiction, various mediums, and interactive elements.
When and where: April 8-9: Red Sandcastle Theatre, 922 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 2J5. 1 hr 45mins (no intermission). For evening performances, doors open at 7:10 pm, and the show at 7:30 pm. For matinee performances, doors open at 1:40 pm, and the show at 2 pm. Post-show talk-back.
Trigger warning! Stories of rape and child abuse.
Tickets: Student, $15; general seating, $20.