Mahabharata Perth Festival 2025: A Modern Retelling of an Ancient Epic

Imagine a story so ancient and vast that it has been told and retold for over four millennia – around flickering oil lamps in Indian villages, in the verses of sages, and at family dinner tables across generations. The Mahabharata is not just any story; it’s one of the world’s longest epic poems and a cornerstone of Vedic culture. Now, fast forward to Perth in 2025: this timeless Indian epic comes alive on stage as a breathtaking theatrical production, transforming an age-old saga into an immersive modern retelling of an ancient epic. It’s happening at Perth Festival 2025, where East meets West in a grand celebration of Indian epic theatre. And it’s not just a play – it’s a once-in-a-generation experience that has enthusiasts and newcomers alike buzzing with anticipation.

In this post, we’ll journey through this Mahabharata Perth Festival 2025 production in true storytelling style. From a hook that snags your imagination to a call-to-action that invites you into the conversation, consider this your front-row ticket. We’ll explore why this modern adaptation matters, meet the creative visionaries behind it (hello, Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes!), and unpack how a 4,000-year-old tale of duty, family feuds, and fate resonates so powerfully today. Whether you’re a Vedic mythology buff or a fan of epic theatre adventures, buckle up for an engaging saga that bridges ancient epics and our contemporary world. Let’s set the stage!

The Mahabharata’s Enduring Legacy and a New Beginning

The Mahabharata is often called “the mother of all tales,” and for good reason. Composed of roughly 100,000 verses (about 2 million words) in Sanskrit, it’s an epic poem that dwarfs the Iliad and Odyssey combined. It chronicles a monumental family feud between the Pandava and Kaurava cousins, whose battle for a kingdom leads to a cataclysmic war that nearly destroys their world. Contained within this sweeping narrative are stories within stories – touching on duty (dharma), fate (karma), honor, exile, love, revenge, and the very fabric of human nature. For countless generations across South Asia, the Mahabharata has been more than literature; it’s a cultural touchstone and a spiritual guide, rich with philosophical insight and moral complexity.

Why does a modern retelling matter? Because the Mahabharata isn’t frozen in time. Its themes of righteousness versus ambition, kinship versus conflict, and the gray zones of morality are timeless and tragically relevant. In a world still grappling with wars and ideological clashes, this epic’s lessons echo loudly. As one character in the play poignantly observes, “When the truth cannot be agreed upon, war is inevitable.” Those words could describe an ancient battlefield or our nightly news. By reimagining the Mahabharata in a contemporary theatrical form, the creators are not just reviving an old story – they’re holding up a mirror to humanity’s ongoing struggles and asking, have we learned anything in 4,000 years?

Bringing such an epic to the stage is a daring endeavor. It’s akin to inviting the ocean into a swimming pool – how do you contain the immensity? That’s where the magic of Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata comes in. This production, staged as part of the Perth Festival 2025 events, distills the essence of the epic into a single unforgettable experience. It honors the source material’s cultural significance while innovating in form and presentation. The result is both an homage and a new beginning: a modern stage adaptation of the Mahabharata that speaks to today’s audiences, young and old, Eastern and Western, in the universal language of storytelling.

On stage at Perth Festival 2025: Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata brings ancient characters to life with a modern flourish. The production’s visual grandeur – from vibrant costumes to dynamic digital backdrops – captures the epic’s otherworldly atmosphere, leaving audiences in awe. At Perth Festival 2025, the Mahabharata isn’t just being performed; it’s being experienced. For festival-goers and Vedic mythology enthusiasts, this is more than a highlight of the cultural theatre productions on offer – it’s a cultural event in its own right. Let’s delve into how this show was crafted, who’s behind it, and what makes it such a landmark in South Asian theatre on the global stage.

A Visionary Production by Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes

Every epic needs its storytellers. At the heart of this grand stage adaptation is the dynamic duo of Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes, the co-creators who dared to ask, “Why not bring the Mahabharata to everyone?” Jain and Fernandes hail from Why Not Theatre, an innovative international company based in Toronto, Canada. Both are of South Asian heritage, and together they’ve channeled their personal connections to the material into a production that’s as authentic as it is inventive. In fact, this Mahabharata stage adaptation is notable for being the first major international Mahabharata production led by artists of Indian heritage, exclusively cast from the South Asian diaspora. This representation is a big deal – it infuses the project with lived cultural perspective and answers a call for diverse voices in the telling of global stories.

Ravi Jain, the founder and Artistic Director of Why Not Theatre, is the director of the show, bringing years of experimental theatre experience and a reputation for pushing boundaries. Miriam Fernandes, the associate director (and also a performer in the show), has been Jain’s close collaborator in shaping the script and concept. Their partnership is rooted in a simple yet profound goal: to challenge the status quo of how stories like the Mahabharata are told, and who gets to tell them whynot.theatrewhynot.theatre. The respect they have for the source material is immense – they used poet Carole Satyamurti’s acclaimed “Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling” as a springboard for their script, weaving in original dialogue, Sanskrit verses, and even Tagore’s poetry to create a rich tapestry of language and lore.

What makes Jain and Fernandes’s approach truly shine is their emphasis on community and conversation. They recognize that the Mahabharata has traditionally been a communal experience – something shared orally, with discussions flowing around it. “Most of the time, people are hearing it around a dinner table, or you’re getting a little lesson here or there,” notes Miriam Fernandes. This insight led them to design the show in a way that encourages audiences to engage with the epic together, rather than just passively watch. As we’ll see, they even built a community meal into the performance to honor the way these stories have been passed down (yes, you read that right – dinner and a show!).

Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata has already made waves internationally before landing in Perth. It premiered in 2023 at the prestigious Shaw Festival in Canada and even traveled to the Barbican in London – where Perth Festival’s Artistic Director, Iain Grandage, saw it and knew he had to bring it to Australia. Critics have been raving about this fresh take. The Guardian lauded it as “magisterial in its own right, meticulous and dazzling”, praising how it condenses the sprawling epic into a gripping five-hour sagaBut what exactly does this five-hour saga look like on stage? Let’s break down the unique structure of the performance – it’s not a traditional one-act play by any means.

Karma, Dharma, and Khana & Kahani – A Three-Part Epic Experience

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you present the Mahabharata on stage? One part at a time – with an intermission for a feast! Why Not Theatre’s production smartly divides the epic into two main theatrical parts, titled Part I: Karma and Part II: Dharma, with an innovative immersive segment called Khana & Kahani in between. Over the course of an evening (or two, if you choose to see the parts on separate days), audiences are taken on a journey that’s part play, part pilgrimage.

Part I: Karma – The Seeds of Rivalry and Fate

The first act, Karma, sets the stage with the origins of the conflict. We meet a powerful king, Janamejaya, who is performing a snake sacrifice to avenge his father’s death. In a meta storytelling twist, a Storyteller character is summoned to divert the king from this path of vengeance by narrating the history of his ancestors – and so the tale of the Mahabharata beginsThrough the Storyteller’s narrative, we witness the early chapters of the Mahabharata: the rivalry born in childhood between the five Pandava brothers and their hundred Kaurava cousins, the royal court intrigues, and the infamous Game of Dice that becomes the turning point of their fates.

Karma lives up to its name – it’s about actions and consequences. The production portrays how small injustices and jealousies snowball into a cycle of vengeance that spans generations. Yet, it’s not delivered as dry exposition. Part I: Karma is staged with playful narration, shadow puppetry, classical Indian dance, and a live musical ensemble, creating a vibrant collage of storytelling techniquesOne moment you might see dancers interpreting the characters’ inner struggles through bharatanatyam or kathak movements; the next, shadow play might depict a scheming roll of the dice. This creative blend keeps the audience engrossed as they navigate the epic’s complex family tree and moral lessons. Themes of storytelling itself, of ecological awareness (yes, even a hint of environmental concern shows up, as the kingdom’s fate is tied to nature), and of dharma – here interpreted as empathy and duty – are all introduced in Part I By the end of Karma, the stage is set (both literally and figuratively) for war. The Pandavas have been humiliated and exiled after losing everything in the rigged dice game. The question looms large: *When everyone believes they are right and their opponents wrong, how can one end a spiral of revenge?*s a question that Part II will take up with intensity. But before we plunge into battle, the production invites the audience to pause, reflect, and break bread together – quite literally.

Khana & Kahani – Breaking Bread with the Epic

In a bold move that echoes traditional ways of sharing epics, the show includes an immersive interlude called “Khana & Kahani,” which translates to “Food & Story.” During the extended interval between Part I and Part II (or as a separate session on marathon days), audience members gather for a community meal and storytelling session. Imagine walking out of a dramatic first act, your mind buzzing with the Pandavas’ plight, only to be greeted by the aroma of a traditional vegetarian Indian meal. You sit at communal tables in Perth’s cozy Cloisters Arcade (just a short stroll from the theatre), and as you savor spiced delicacies, a talented storyteller continues the journeyhis is not just dinner theater; it’s a cultural experience that adds another dimension to the epic. Sharada K. Eswar, the creative associate and storyteller for Khana & Kahani, might regale the room with an intimate tale from the Mahabharata – perhaps one of the many side-stories (did someone say Savitri and Satyavan? Or the youth of Bhishma?) that couldn’t fit into the main show. The vibe is informal, warm, and communal, much like how epics were traditionally passed on – around a fire or a dinner table. As Miriam Fernandes points out, this session allows audiences to experience the Mahabharata as many Indian families do – sharing food and stories, blurring the line between spectator and participanthter, personal reflections, and conversations between strangers fill the air, turning the theatre outing into a mini community festival of its own.

By the time dinner is done, not only are your stomach and heart full, but you’ve also had time to digest (pun intended) the first half’s events and themes. This makes you ready to face the grand climax in Part II with a deeper emotional investment. It’s an ingenious way to break the fourth wall of theatre and remind everyone that the Mahabharata is ultimately a living story – one that thrives in the shared experience of its listeners.

Part II: Dharma – The War and the Way Forward

If Karma plants the seeds, Part II: Dharma reaps the whirlwind. This is the portion of the evening where the epic’s most famous event unfolds: the Great War of Kurukshetra. As King Janamejaya continues to listen to the epic tale (remember, he’s the frame story – the king hearing about his ancestors), he learns of the catastrophic war his forefathers fought, a conflict that not only annihilated armies but also sent the world into a tailspin of destruc. In Dharma, we witness heroic warriors like Arjuna and Bhishma on the battlefield, the pivotal dialogues that occur (hello, Bhagavad Gita!), and the heartbreaking aftermath as survivors confront the ashes of a world they once knew.

The staging of Part II is nothing short of spectacular. The directors shift the storytelling style to match the gravity of war and the existential questions it raises. Expect to see captivating projections and dynamic soundscapes turning the stage into a battlefield, complete with chariots and celestial weapons whizzing past in digital form Amidst this, time almost stands still for a jewel of a scene: a 15-minute opera in Sanskrit, adapting the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred discourse between Prince Arjuna and his charioteer (who is revealed to be Krishna in divine. Yes, you read that right – an opera, in Sanskrit! Soprano vocals soar as Arjuna grapples with despair and Krishna imparts spiritual wisdom, all through haunting melody. This bold artistic choice has been a talking point of the production, with opera singer Meher Pavri delivering a rendition of the Gita that one reviewer described as nothing short of soul-stirring.

The title Dharma signifies duty, righteousness, and the moral order, and that’s exactly what Part II interrogates. In the thick of war, both the characters on stage and the audience are prompted to consider: What is the right thing to do when all choices lead to suffering? King Janamejaya, hearing of the unimaginable bloodshed wrought by his ancestors, must confront the violence he was about to unleash in his own time (remember those snakes he wanted to kill?). The epiphany that strikes him – and us – is that cycles of vengeance have no end unless we break them. Are we destined to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors? the play pointedl. By the final scene, as the dust settles on Kurukshetra and the storytellers close their circle, we’re left not with neat answers but with a profound sense of reflection.

Karma and Dharma together deliver a complete narrative arc of the Mahabharata, from the early sparks of conflict to the embers that remain after the war’s inferno. Yet, true to the epic’s spirit, the ending is not an end at all, but a contemplation – a chance for each viewer to draw their own lessons on dharma, karma, and what it means to be human. In many ways, this theatrical odyssey succeeds in what it set out to do: it makes an ancient epic feel urgently alive and deeply personal to a modern audie Dramatic Court Scene from Mahabharata Part I: Karma – The ensemble cast recreates a pivotal moment in the royal court. Vivid reds and golds, combined with expressive performances, pull the audience into the intensity of palace intrigues and the fateful Game of Dice that sets the epic in motion.

From Ancient Sanskrit Verses to Stage Spotlight: The Epic in Brief

For newcomers, here’s a crash course in the Mahabharata – a tale so sprawling that summarizing it is an epic task in itself! At its heart, the Mahabharata is the story of a family feud turned apocalyptic war, interwoven with countless subplots and teachings. It centers on two sets of cousins descended from King Bharata (hence Mahabharata): the Pandavas (five heroic brothers, sons of King Pandu) and the Kauravas (a hundred brothers, sons of the blind King Dhritarashtra). When the question of succession to the Kuru throne arises, envy and ambition drive the Kauravas to deny the Pandavas their rightful share of the . Attempts at peaceful power-sharing fail miserably, thanks in and mistrust on both sides. Finally, the scheming Kaurava prince Duryodhana invites the Pandavas to a rigged gambling match – the infamous Game of Dice – in which the Pandavas lose everything: their kingdom, their wealth, and even their freedom.

Humiliated and enraged, the Pandavas are sent into a 13-year exile. Upon their return, diplomatic efforts crumble and the stage is set for the Kurukshetra War. This war is the climactic centerpiece of the Mahabharata, a colossal 18-day battle involving gods, heroes, monsters, and fate itself. Legendary fighters take sides – the Pandavas have the peerless archer Arjuna and the mighty Bhima, while the Kauravas boast warriors like Karna (a tragic hero with a secret identity) and Bhishma (the immortal grand-uncle sworn to protect the throne). The war is devastating: countless are slain, including heroes on both sides. The Pandavas emerge victorious, but at a staggering cost – nearly the entire Kuru dynasty is wiped out. The aftermath is somber: Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava, becomes king, but he is wracked with guilt and questions about the righteousness of this bloody victory. In the end, the Mahabharata transcends the war to explore moral ambiguity, the impermanence of life, and the pursuit of salvation.

So, how does the stage adaptation squeeze this ocean of a story into 5-ish hours? Jain and Fernandes made strategic choices. They focus primarily on the main narrative of the Pandavas and Kauravas, using King Janamejaya’s snake sacrifice as a clever framing device to bookend the story (in other words, the play opens and closes with someone telling the story, just as the epic traditionally has a storyteller narrating to an audience). This helps trim down the sprawling epic while still acknowledging its storytelling heritage. Many side stories and tangents of the written epic are condensed or alluded to briefly – enough to intrigue, but not derail the central plot. For example, the dice game and Draupadi’s harrowing disrobing scene (where the Pandavas’ wife is humiliated and miraculously saved by divine intervention) take center stage as they embody the theme of honor vs. dishonor. Characters like Krishna, who serves as Arjuna’s charioteer and spiritual guide, are given weight through key scenes like the Bhagavad Gita opera segment. In contrast, some episodic tales (like Arjuna’s mountain exile adventures, or the birth stories of each brother) are likely referenced in passing or woven into dialogue rather than depicted fully.

What’s remarkable is that despite paring down, the play doesn’t shy away from the philosophical depth and moral complexity that make the Mahabharata so unique. The creators have incorporated verses and wisdom literature into the script – including direct Sanss (verses) from the Gita and narrative poetry – to ensure the epic’s spiritual core shines through. The result, as one festival-goer put it, is “a dazzling distillation of a millennia-old epic”. Audiences who know the Mahabharata inside-out have praised the adaptation for honoring the source, while newcomers have found it accessible and enthralling – proof that you don’t need to know every character or lineage beforehand, because the storytelling carries you along.

To sum up, the stage adaptation stands as a microcosm of the Mahabharata. It captures the sibling rivalries, the dramatic twists (exile! disguise! curses! revelations!), the war, and the moral reflections – essentially the highlights that drive the narrative forward – and presents them in a way that a modern viewer can digest in one epic sitting. And perhaps most importantly, it preserves the epic’s soul: that feeling that you have not just witnessed a story, but lived through an era and come out the other side pondering big questions. Which brings us to those very questions and themes…

Dharma, Humanity, and the Timeless Themes at Play

One of the reasons the Mahabharata endures as a classic is its rich exploration of universal themes. This Perth Festival production keenly brings those themes to the forefront, making the ancient tale feel like a mirror to today’s world. Let’s explore a few of the powerful ideas and questions that this epic stage play invites us to reflect upon:

Dharma (Duty/Righteousness): What is the right thing to do? The concept of dharma is woven throughout the Mahabharata – every character struggles with their duty, be it a duty to family, to throne, to morality, or to self. The play’s second part is even named Dharma, highlighting this focus. We see Yudhishthira, the truthful Pandava, face a duty to fight a war which conflicts with his moral compass, and Arjuna needing a divine pep talk about fulfilling his warrior duty even when it means fighting loved ones. The production smartly doesn’t handnce to one “moral of the story”. As Miriam Fernandes noted, Western audiences often expect a clear lesson or a good guy vs bad guy resolution, “like the Bible gives us,” but **“Mahabharata is not that. It contradicts itself… it gets more and more confusing and it’s up to you to solve it.”*. This ambiguity is intentional – dharma isn’t always clear-cut, and the play leaves us pondering our own sense of right and wrong long after the curtain call.
Karma (Actions and Consequences): In the epic, every action has a ripple effect across generations. The title of Part I, Karma, points to how past deeds set the stage for present conflict. The play emphasizes the cycle of vengeance: one act of treachery leads to another, one insult begets another, until it spirals into a full-blown war. This theme feels eerily relevant to modern times – think of protracted feuds or conflicts in our world where each side believes they are justified by history. As the production’s narrative asks, how can we break out of this destructive loop? The resolution hinted and understanding, which ties into dharma as empathy in the show’s context. The lesson isn’t preachy; it’s presented through the tragic outcomes on stage that make us yearn for a different path.
The Complexity of Right and Wrong: Don’t expect any character in this story to be purely hero or villain. One of the Mahabharata’s most compelling aspects is its refusal to paint morality in black and white. The play carries this forward – we find ourselves empathizing with “flawed” characters and questioning the “righteous” ones. Bhishma, bound by his vow, fights for the wrong side out of duty. Karna stays loyal to his friend Duryodhana even if that friend is the antagonist. Even Duryodhana, often branded the villain, is shown as a man driven by a sense of injustice (he perceives his cousins as usurpers). The stage adaptation leverages these sto challenge the audience. As Fernandes puts it, it’s not about delivering a neat fable with a moral, but rather enveloping us in a story that “contradicts itself” and reflects the messy, multifaceted nature of life. This can be jolting for viewers used to simpler tales, but it’s ultimately more rewarding – you walk out with fodder for deep discussion, not a simplistic takeaway.
Humanity and Compassion: Amid epic battles and royal drama, the Mahabharata is deeply human. The production underscores moments of compassion and human connection that pierce through the conflict. One striking scene that often grabs audiences is when the Pandava wife Draupadi is publicly humiliated in the Kaurava court – a horrific moment – and different characters are forced to confront their conscience. The empathy (or lack thereof) they show Draupadi becomes a measure of their humanity. Thematically, the play reminds us that choosing humanity over ego is the true victory. As Ravi Jain observed about our real world, “we have to remember that we’re humans… constantly forcing us to not choose humanity [over] my gain vs yours… And in this story, a core belief is that as humans, we need to do the opposite.”. By dramatizing both the worst and best of human nature, the show gently nudgeder our own choices: Do we choose compassion, or do we give in to the ‘law of the jungle’?
Relevance to Modern Times: Perhaps the most striking theme is how this ancient tale resonates with the 21st century. Watching Mahabharata at Perth Festival 2025, you might catch parallels to current events and global tensions. The creative team themselves felt this strongly; as they prepared to perform in 2023, real-world wars were unfolding, underscoring the epic’s message about cycles of violence. The play doesn’t hammer you with contemporary references, but the undertones are clear – from sibling rivalries that recall politicales, to kingdoms laid waste which evoke environmental catastrophes (the productioies the war’s toll to the destruction of the planet and a mass extinction in Part II, hinting at ecological concerns). The message is that the Mahabharata isn’t just myth or history; it’s a **living, breathing stlds a cautionary mirror to our times. The theme of “Are we destined to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors?” lands with particular weight in this age of historical reckoning and calls for change.
Cycles of Revenge and Forgiveness: Finally, a beautiful theme that emerges is the idea of breaking cycles. The epic sets up a vicious cycle of revenge, but by the end, there’s a yearning for peace and closure. In the play, King Janamejaya, who starts off seeking revenge against snakes (long story short: his father died of a snakebite, and he’s understandably upset), comes to see the futility of vengeance after hearing what that mentality led to in his ancestors’ lives. The choice he faces – to continue the sacrifice or let go – symbolizes the choice humanity faces in every era: do we perpetuate old hatreds or do we forgive and forge a new path? The Mahabharata, and this adaptation, seem to gently guide us toward the latter, even if it’s not easy. It’s a theme that resonates personally with many viewers; perhaps we all have our own “wars” and grudges, and seeing these larger-than-life characters struggle and evolve gives us hope that we might too.

In essence, the themes of dharma (duty/righteousness), karma (cause and effect), the complexity of morality, humanity and compassion, and breaking the cycle of vengeance are the heartbeat of the Mahabharata on stage. They transform a distant mythological tale into a deeply relatable reflection on life. You don’t have to be a scholar or a believer to be moved by these ideas – the play’s narrative and performances make them tangible. Many audience members have found themselves discussing these themes long after the show – exactly the kind of meaningful engagement the creators hoped to spark.