The Plays
Baghdad Wedding | March 4, 2012, 7:30 pm
Nominated for: Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male), Best Supporting Actor (Male), Best Original Script
Produced by: Akvarious Productions
Directed by: Akarsh Khurana
Language – English
Duration: 2hrs
"In Iraq, a wedding is not a wedding unless shots get fired. It's like in England where a wedding is not a wedding unless someone pukes or tries to grope one of the bridesmaids. That's just the way it goes". Cited by Indian critics as "a production of great value", Hassan Abdulrazzak's first play reminds us of the infinite human contradictions within any nation. From cosmopolitan London to the chaos of war-ravaged Baghdad, this is the tale of three friends, who grapple with their cultural, political and sexual identities, torn between two worlds. And one wedding that goes horribly wrong.
Director’s Note
I found Baghdad Wedding three years ago, and fell in love with it instantly. But I felt I wasn’t anywhere near ‘ready’ to direct it, even though I also knew that it was something I had to someday do. Thus started my process of preparation – to understand every facet of the play and to find enough maturity inside me to be capable of taking it on. On the way, I found the perfect cast (and crew), and by some miracle I had the honor of getting the permission to stage it from Hassan himself. Directing this play has been one of the most challenging theatrical experiences of my life, and also one of the most gratifying.
Nominees:
Akarsh Khurana Best Director
Three time META nominee for Best Director (Afsaneh: Bai se Bioscope tak, Blackbird and The Interview) and one time META winner for Best Stage Design. Akarsh Khurana is the proprietor of Akvarious Productions, a Mumbai based theatre group that has produced over 35 plays in 11 years, of which Akarsh has directed 14. He is also a screenwriter, and his work includes Krrish, U, Me aur Hum, Kites and the upcoming Krrish sequel.
Faisal Rashid Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male)
A graduate of Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, Faisal Rashid started his theatre career with Naseeruddin Shah in 2005 and is now a regular feature in Motley's productions including Antigone, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial and By George. His film work includes Mani Ratnam's Raavan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's production, My Friend Pinto and the upcoming Mohalla Assi directed by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi.
Karan Pandit Best Supporting Actor (Male)
At the young age of 22, Karan Pandit has achieved a lot on the professional stage, including the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Award for Best Actor in 2011. His theatre work includes a lot of critically acclaimed productions such as All About My Mother directed by Akash Khurana, the multiple award winning corporate satire The Interview and more recently Djinns of Eidgah directed by noted British stage director Richard Twyman.
Hassan Abdulrazzak Best Original Script
Hassan Abdulrazzak is of Iraqi origin, born in Prague and living in London. His play Baghdad Wedding, was staged at Soho Theatre (London) and Belvoir St Theatre (Sydney) before Akvarious Productions produced it for India in 2011. Hassan was awarded the 2008 George Devine and Meyer-Whitworth awards and the 2009 Pearson award for the play. He is currently working with screenwriter and playwright Nick Drake on the film adaptation of Baghdad Wedding for Focus Features and is also writing two stage plays.
Cast & Credit
On Stage
Nimrat Kaur
Karan Pandit
Faisal Rashid
Adhir Bhat, Zachary Coffin, Hussain Dalal, Debtosh Darjee, Dilshad Edibam, Muzammil Qureshi, Imran Rasheed, Sarang Sathaye, Chaitnya Sharma and Sumeet Vyas
Off Stage
Written by: Hassan Abdulrazzak
Light Design & Execution: Pradeep Vaiddya
Stage Design: Akarsh Khurana
Costume Design: Dilshad Edibam
Sound Design: Akarsh Khurana
