Mandala Theatre Nepal is set to stage ‘Shhh Iijlas Jari Cha’, a play exploring the prejudices, stereotypes and gender reinforcements in our society.

The play is the result of the 6-week theatre workshop held by Mandala in association with Bagmati province’s tourism board, in which 15 of the actors now make up the cast.

It follows the plot of the renowned Marathi play ‘Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe’, written originally by Vijay Tendulkar. Adapting it into a Nepali version, the play is translated by Bijay Bishfot.

Directed by Gunjan Dixit, the film follows an amateur theatre group preparing to stage a mock courtroom drama. But as the ‘play’ progresses, the line between performance and reality begins to seamlessly blur.

Mainly, it explores the status of women and how society continues to influence their lives.

For director Dixit, the female protagonist Devayani’s character felt very layered. She wanted to maintain the character's authenticity while still narrating through a female director's lens.

“She is someone who attempts to make her own decisions in a setting that is quick to nitpick and punish them. This conflict ultimately influenced many of our artistic productions,” says Dixit.

Following plays like ‘Grand Rehearsal’, the theatre has been implementing the metatheatre (play-within-a-play) concept, a dramatic device that closely reflects the themes being discussed.

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Shhh Iijlas Jari Cha

Where: Mandala Theatre, Thapagaun
When: July 3 to 26
Time: Every day at 5:30 pm

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes