The impossible union of opposites.

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An India–Scotland collaboration for actor, two dancers and solo guitar

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“The end did not end. It turned.”​ 

Enter a mind at the white-hot instant of revelation.

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The vivid theatrical presence of Indian actor Dishari Kargupta, the startlingly passionate soundworlds of Scottish guitarist Simon Thacker and the infinitely expressive physicality of India’s Piah Dance Company collide, contradict and coalesce.

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The end is at the beginning. Ira opens with a revelation. Then time turns, plunging us into the loss and transformation that make her words inevitable. Inspired by Shiva’s wild cosmic dance of creation, preservation and dissolution,

 

Tandava finds exhilaration in uniting polarities: creation inside destruction, stillness inside movement, endings turning into beginnings. Powerful theatrical scenes interweave words, movement and music because Ira's experience exceeds what she can consciously say. Words reach the audience through kinetic and vibrational energy: ecstatic rhythms, multi-layered choreography, haunting melodies, intricate footwork, elemental guitar and proximity that reshapes meaning.  When words fall away, breathtaking journeys in composition and choreography carry thought and feeling beyond language. Ira interrogates existence because she is captivated by it. We follow her backwards through grief, memory, desire and a ferocious need to know what survives when a life changes form.  

 

This new Tandava expands the 2023 music-dance production by Ivors-nominated Scottish guitarist-composer Simon Thacker, whose intercultural work has toured to acclaim across South Asia, and Ahmedabad-based Piah Dance Company, collaborators since 2019. Founded by Priya Varunesh Kumar, Piah Dance Company draws on the rich heritage of their classical Bharatanatyam training and a deep love of Gujarati and Rajasthani folk forms to realise new visions for their art; in Tandava, Kumar dances alongside Bengaluru’s Sangeetha Jayaram.  Indian actor and LAMDA alumna Dishari Kargupta plays Ira and co-writes the cript with Thacker.   

 

The 2023 music-dance production that premiered as part of the Made in Scotland showcase, was invited to appear live on BBC News and garnered several rave reviews: 

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A coming together of cultural excellence, where the sum is even greater than its parts," The Scotsman​

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"This is a multi-layered, multi-cultural work" ***** Arts Review Edinburgh

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"This show is very beautiful to watch with fabulous music from Simon Thacker"

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Broadway Baby; "a music-dance showcase that is both distinct and excellent", The List

 

Now seeking commissioning, presentation and international touring.