History
Productions
"Political, provocative, personal"
Teesri Duniya Theatre (meaning “third world” in Hindustani) began in 1981 as a South Asian theatre company. Today it is one of the few theatre companies in Canada where artists of every culture, color, language and background work together. The company promotes a multicultural-multiracial vision of Canada. Our creations are outward looking and weave together elements of different cultures. We believe this to be the best way to drive the creative process, ensure our artistic development, and build and maintain our relationship with the country’s general arts movement.
In the early eighties, Teesri produced plays in Hindi dealing with issues affecting the lives of South Asian immigrants in Québec (Julus, Bhanumati ka Pitara, and Ahsaas). In 1985, the company branched out to begin producing English-language productions with plays such as Job Stealer, Equal Wages, No Man’s Land and Divided We Stand. The result is a theatre that focuses on minority issues, builds solidarity among minorities, and promotes an increasing interaction and dialogue across cultures.
Counter Offence was Montreal Mirror critic Gaëtan Charlebois’s top pick of the 10 best plays of the decade. In 1999, we produced L’Affaire Farhadi, a French translation of Counter Offence, earning the distinction of being the first culturally diverse company to produce a French-language play, with the Gazette declaring: “L’Affaire Farhadi could be the vanguard of the revolution in French-language theatre.”
In the early eighties, Teesri produced plays in Hindi dealing with issues affecting the lives of South Asian immigrants in Québec (Julus, Bhanumati ka Pitara, and Ahsaas). In 1985, the company branched out to begin producing English-language productions with plays such as Job Stealer, Equal Wages, No Man’s Land and Divided We Stand. The result is a theatre that focuses on minority issues, builds solidarity among minorities, and promotes an increasing interaction and dialogue across cultures.
Counter Offence was Montreal Mirror critic Gaëtan Charlebois’s top pick of the 10 best plays of the decade. In 1999, we produced L’Affaire Farhadi, a French translation of Counter Offence, earning the distinction of being the first culturally diverse company to produce a French-language play, with the Gazette declaring: “L’Affaire Farhadi could be the vanguard of the revolution in French-language theatre.”
Bhopal by Rahul Varma, has been produced in French, English and Hindi in both Canada and India. It is the first Quebecois/Canadian play to have been professionally produced in India. We are a professional theatre company with roots extending to an increasing number of minority communities in Canada—this is where we draw our sustenance.
From the beginning, we have sought to broaden our cultural reach, collaborating with like-minded companies across Canada, including, Théâtre Sortie de Secours (Bhopal), Cahoots Theatre Projects (Ali & Ali and The Axes of Evil), neworldtheatre (My Name is Rachel Corrie, 2007), Black Theatre Workshop (Counter Offence), Carlos Bulosan Theatre (People Power), The MT Space (The Last 15 Seconds), and Native Earth Performing Arts (Almighty Voice and His Wife).
In 2011, Teesri Duniya Theatre celebrated its 30th anniversary. In March 2012, Teesri presented State of Denial, the latest play by artistic director Rahul Varma, in conjunction with the Montreal Life Stories Project. Teesri continues to present two full productions a year as well as publish quarterly alt.theatre: cultural diversity and the stage, Canada’s only professional journal dedicated to examining intersections between politics, social activism, cultural plurality and the stage.
Throughout Teesri’s history, we have produced and workshopped several plays by aboriginal playwrights and on aboriginal themes, including Land Where the Trees Talk by Rahul Varma, The Unnatural and Accidental Women by Marie Clements, alterNatives by Drew Hayden Taylor, Almighty Voice and His Wife by Daniel David Moses, and upcoming in September 2012, Where the Blood Mixes by Kevin Loring.
Today, Teesri Duniya, which began as primarily a South Asian group, is an all-inclusive organization whose creative and administrative team as well as audience members come from a wide range of ethnic and racial backgrounds, including the majority cultures. The company reflects the ideal face of Canada and Québec as multiethnic, multiracial and multilingual.
From the beginning, we have sought to broaden our cultural reach, collaborating with like-minded companies across Canada, including, Théâtre Sortie de Secours (Bhopal), Cahoots Theatre Projects (Ali & Ali and The Axes of Evil), neworldtheatre (My Name is Rachel Corrie, 2007), Black Theatre Workshop (Counter Offence), Carlos Bulosan Theatre (People Power), The MT Space (The Last 15 Seconds), and Native Earth Performing Arts (Almighty Voice and His Wife).
In 2011, Teesri Duniya Theatre celebrated its 30th anniversary. In March 2012, Teesri presented State of Denial, the latest play by artistic director Rahul Varma, in conjunction with the Montreal Life Stories Project. Teesri continues to present two full productions a year as well as publish quarterly alt.theatre: cultural diversity and the stage, Canada’s only professional journal dedicated to examining intersections between politics, social activism, cultural plurality and the stage.
Throughout Teesri’s history, we have produced and workshopped several plays by aboriginal playwrights and on aboriginal themes, including Land Where the Trees Talk by Rahul Varma, The Unnatural and Accidental Women by Marie Clements, alterNatives by Drew Hayden Taylor, Almighty Voice and His Wife by Daniel David Moses, and upcoming in September 2012, Where the Blood Mixes by Kevin Loring.
Today, Teesri Duniya, which began as primarily a South Asian group, is an all-inclusive organization whose creative and administrative team as well as audience members come from a wide range of ethnic and racial backgrounds, including the majority cultures. The company reflects the ideal face of Canada and Québec as multiethnic, multiracial and multilingual.
