Set in present-day Bombay, this sensual new drama by playwright and novelist Anosh Irani is a tale of seduction, betrayal, revenge, and that leap of faith called Love.

In a seaside apartment, the iron-willed Padma takes money from men so they may watch her daughter, Apsara, perform a mesmerizing dance. Apsara's extraordinary beauty and erotically charged dancing cast a powerful spell over her wealthy and famous clientele.

One day, a mysterious blind man named Kamal visits for a private dance. Kamal is somehow linked to their past. His secret threatens to change each of their lives forever — Welcome to the world of Bombay Black.

Bombay Black is a remarkable new Canadian work — at times, lyrical and funny, at other times chillingly brutal. Irani creates some haunting, unforgettable images: a mother threatening to feed her daughter to ravenous birds, a grieving widow covered in her husband's ashes, two lovers soaring over the Gateway of India in a flying carriage.

Though at times he presents us with some disturbingly dark images, Irani's Bombay Black is ultimately a poignantly romantic vision. By seamlessly weaving realism with elements of myth and magic, Irani takes his characters (and consequently, the audience) on fantastic voyages of the imagination.

Anosh Irani was born and raised in Bombay (now Mumbai) and moved to Vancouver in 1998. He is the author of the acclaimed novels, The Cripple and His Talisman, and The Song of Kahunsha, which was chosen as a CBC B.C. Studio One Book Club pick and selected for the 2007 edition of Canada Reads. He is featured in Quill and Quire as one of a handful of young Canadian "writers to watch." Most recently, Anosh Irani was nominated for a Governor General Literary Award for Drama for his anthology THE BOMBAY PLAYS: The Matka King & Bombay Black.

Bombay Black is directed by Brian Quirt Brian, artistic director of the theatre company Nightswimming. He has directed many of its projects, including the Governor General Award nominees Through the Eyes, by Don Druick and An Acre of Time, by Jason Sherman. He has been nominated for two Dora Mavor Moore Awards for his direction of Through the Eyes (2003) and Andy Massingham's Rough House (2005). His National Arts Centre production of Pierre Brault's Portrait of an Unidentified Man toured to the Magnetic North Festival, an annual festival of English Canadian theatre from across Canada.

Deena Aziz, who plays Padman, is based in Montreal, where she works as a freelance producer, production manager and story editor. In the rest of the country, where she moonlights as an actor, she has worked for the National Arts Centre, Northern Light, Nightswimming, Nightwood and CanStage.

 

Anita Majumdar (Apsara) is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada. Her self-written/self-performed solo show Fish Eyes has received acclaim across Canada and internationally. Acting credits include: Bloom (Modern Times Stage Theatre), and Tales from Ovid (Centaur Theatre). Film credits include: Murder Unveiled for which she received the Best Actress award at the Asian Festival of First Films in Singapore. Anita was one of fifty artists invited to celebrate the Canada Council for the Arts' 50th Anniversary with Governor General, Michaelle Jean.

Sanjay Talwar, who plays Kamal, is originally from Halifax. He was Artistic Director of Shakespeare in the Rough for the last four years and directed their most recent production, The Merchant of Venice, this past summer. Recent acting credits include Rosencrantz in Hamlet (Soulpepper) and two productions of Helen's Necklace at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto and Pi Theatre in Vancouver — where he won a Jessie Award for Best Supporting Actor.

 

Bombay Black will be at the Vancouver Arts Club - Granville Island Stage located at 1585 Johnston St. from Feb 21 - March 15. Contact 604-687-1644 or cahoots.ca/bombay.