Shilpee Theatre has announced the staging of ‘Miss Menuka: Ek Sanvedanshil Yaunkarmi’, a Nepali adaptation of French philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre’s celebrated 1946 work, La Putain respectueuse (The Respectful Prostitute). The production runs from July 29 to August 22.

Written by one of the 20th century's most influential philosophers, playwrights, novelists, and social critics, and a leading voice of existentialism, the play is widely regarded as a sharp and enduring critique of moral compromise and institutional injustice.

Shilpee Theatre’s Nepali adaptation reframes this classic within a local context. The play asks whether social and political structures truly recognise the humanity of those they marginalise.

‘Miss Menuka’ confronts the community, class, ethnic, and gender-based discrimination that persists beneath the surface of society, alongside the injustice and inequality born from the abuse of power.

Director Pabitra Khadka notes that the play critiques our natural tendency to view social disparities among us through a single, monotonous perspective. “I hope, after watching the show, the audience will understand the struggle against injustice and discrimination and the reality of sex workers in Nepal, where sex work is not yet established legally,” she says. “Exploring communal discrimination, the play presents the cultural and social disparities in a grounded and relatable manner.”

Miss Menuka: Ek Sanvedanshil Yaunkarmi

When: July 29 to August 22

Where: Shilpee Theatre

Time: 4:00 pm onwards

Entry: Rs500 to Rs1,000