Meet Varoon and Gaurav of Kaivalya Plays

Kaivalya Plays is a performing arts and production company based out of New Delhi. The group has come out with some incredibly impressive and innovative creative projects over the last seven years. We sat down with their Artistic Director, Varoon P. Anand and General Manager Gaurav Singh Nijjer to learn more about their journey so far.

A Journey in Theatre
Varoon P. Anand began his theatre career in 2006 at the Theatre Guild of Ancón in Panama, the country's oldest and longest-running English language community theatre. In 2010, he started his theatre work in India and in 2012, he founded Kaivalya Plays. From 2014 to 2024, Anand received nearly 20 commissions from various embassies, including Spain, Argentina, Ecuador, and the Instituto Cervantes, to adapt Hispanic works for Indian audiences. "In 2018, I was awarded the Refunction grant from the Goethe-Institut to create Unravel, an improvised piece about mental health performed at various festivals in India and the UK," Anand shared. In 2019, he became the first Indian to showcase work at the world's largest Classical Theatre Festival in Almagro, Spain, with his project "Marta la piadosa" by Tirso de Molina. Anand's artistic practice focuses on applying improv and interactive theatre games to mental health, language learning, arts management, and performer safety, as well as emerging areas like climate change and gender equity.

Gaurav Singh Nijjer is a 29-year-old theatremaker, creative technologist, and designer based in New Delhi, India. As a first-generation artist in his family, he previously worked in the marketing, data, and technology sectors, which heavily influence his performance pieces. "I produce theatre performances that are often interactive and multilingual, challenging the traditional audience-performer relationship," Nijjer explained. Nijjer is one half of the Indian theatre collective Kaivalya Plays and also works as a freelance artist and designer with theatre collectives across India. His artistic practice explores the interplay of technology and media in storytelling, focusing on personal histories, freedom of speech, digital cultures, and transcultural ideas.

Read the full article on Platform Magazine: https://www.platform-mag.com/lifestyle/kaivalya-plays.html