Theatre
Refunction 2022

Maya by Shreya Agarwal

Saturday, 15 October 2022, 16:00 and 19:00
Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi

REGISTRATIONS OPEN

Refunction is a performance series inspired by one of the core principles of Bertolt Brecht’s theatre – Umfunktionierung (refunctioning), in which the composition of a new work is in the movement and tension between material, technique and function.

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In 2022, Refunction invited artists and groups to submit proposals for both physical (offline) and digital (online) performance projects. We are excited to present and support works that challenge and propose rituals, modes and mediums of performance in our present contexts.

Maya emerges from the artist’s fascination with a world that “lies buried, beneath the world of reason.” There is terrifying fluidity between the waking and the dream state. This fluidity is the locus from which the project springs. Inspired by Charlotte Beradt’s groundbreaking work, The Third Reich of Dreams, Maya envisages the collection and artistic disclosure of carefully selected dreams of individuals experiencing the current socio-political fabric of India. Dreams, here, are a distinct form of knowledge capable of representing, containing and transfiguring conflicts. By collecting, devising, and disclosing dreams, the project aims to connect the dots between political events and our unconscious lives.

The collection of dreams was made possible with the help of Aayush Sharma, Aditi, Gaurika Bhatt, Moksha Agarwal, Shubham Gupta and Shobhit Tandon. 

The Team: 

Direction and Design: Shreya Agarwal | Performed By: Deepika Chauhan, Gaurika Bhatt, Kunal Dara, Prashasti Jakhmola, Shivam  Khurana, Shobhit Tandon | Assistant Director and Production Head: Aayush Sharma | Scenographer: Santanu Mallick | Lights Designer: Santanu Mallick and Aastha Chadha | Production Assistance: Aastha Chadha

The journey of Maya would not have been possible without the constant support of Abhishek Agrawal, Ashok Agrawal, Kunal Vaidya, Manjari Kaul, Moksha Agarwal, Sakshi Agarwal, Sunita Agarwal and Vivekananda.
Shreya Agarwal is a Delhi-based performance artist, writer, and director. Her post-graduation in Liberal Arts enabled her to devise vignettes that assimilate physical, live performance with other forms of art. While she considers herself too young to stick to a particular style of performance, Shreya's work traverses discourses around the self and how it is experienced in relation to socio-political forces. She also taught Critical Thinking at the Vedica Scholars Programme for Women and utilised theatre as a pedagogical tool, adapting Tagore’s Sadhana and Red Oleanders for Global Ecosophy, a course taught by Prof. Aseem Srivastava at Ashoka University. Shreya's short play, Khwabghar, premiered this June as part of Mithya, an anthology of plays by the Third Space Collective.

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Refunction is an initiative of and supported by Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi.