Ashesh Barsha: Unending Monsoon
World Premiere: september 10, 2005, The Southern Theater, Minneapolis, MN
"Ashesh Barsha," set in a world out of balance, is an intense examination of issues of climate justice and witnesses the horrifying transformation of life-sustaining phenomena into deathly forces, and of natural resources into privately owned commodities. The unending monsoon is a metaphor for a world torn asunder by global warming’s howling winds and towering waves, irresponsible global industrial policies, toxic spills, and land appropriations from indigenous communities.
Running Time: 80 minutes, without intermission
Concept & Choreography
Ananya Chatterjea
stage direction
Dipankar Mukherjee
scenography
Carol Salmon
Collin Sherraden
costume design
Rex Rajavairan
Musicians
Shubha Mudgal (voice)
Pratap Rath (percussion)
Aneesh Pradhan (percussion)
S.Sankarnarayanan (tavil)
Sheena Khalid (recitation)
Music composition, arrangement, sound design
Shubha Mudgal
Aneesh Pradhan
video documentation & production
Darren Johnson
Northern Dawn Media
performers
Sherie Apungu
Ananya Chatterjea
Grace Gathaara
Yan Huss
Yonci Jameson
Gina Kundan
Simran Kundan
Srija Chatterjea Sen
Stefania Strowder
Jasmine Kar Tang
Chitra Vairavan
Pramila Vasudevan
Hui Niu Wilcox
Alessandra Lebea Williams
Kayva Yang
Lighting design
Mike Wangen
(See “resources” below for full playbill)