In January 1984, in a truly pioneering spirit, a group of theater enthusiasts of Indian origin established Natya Bharati, a non-profit cultural organization dedicated to bringing the best of Indian theater to audiences in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Since its inception, Natya Bharati has staged over forty productions, the majority of which have been in Hindi with some in English. It is the oldest such group in the United States.
Natya Bharati is committed to the unique guiding principle of involving people from various linguistic and geographic regions of India, thus drawing on the diversity, richness and cultural nuances of theater from the various regions. Over the years, the works of renowned Indian and Indian origin playwrights such as P.L Deshpande, Vijay Tendulkar, Girish Karnad, Mohan Rakesh, Badal Sircar, Sudipta Bhawmik, Sujit Saraf, Mahesh Dattani and others, have been staged.
The first Natya Bharati play Kasturi Mrig was originally written in Marathi by P.L. Deshpande and subsequently translated for the Hindi stage. In recent years, Natya Bharati has also presented plays written and/or adapted by local writers such as Na Idhar Ke Na Udhar Ke (2004), Double Game (2006), For the Love of Cricket (2014), and Let Me Flow (2015)
Natya Bharati has also hosted and co-sponsored productions involving renowned professional actors from India including the late Amrish Puri (Aadhe Adhure), Sunila Pradhan (Ek, Madhav Bagh) and Jaya Bacchan (Maa Retire Hoti Hai). Most recently, in 2014, Natya Bharati sponsored the English production Nothing Like Lear starring well-renowned stage/film actor Vinay Pathak and directed by Rajat Kapoor. Within the past decade or so, Natya Bharati members have also had the privilege of working under the direction of professional artists such as Sunila Pradhan (Arey! Mayavi Sarovar & Yayaati), Sudha Chopra (Bechare Bhagwan), and Amol Palekar (Adhe Adhure, Khidkiyaan, & Dohri Zindagi).
Natya Bharati has also sponsored productions featuring professional actors in the United States such as Kultar’s Mime (2015, Sikh Research Institute), Bhopal (2013, Epic Actors Workshop), and Rudaali (2007, Epic Actors Workshop).
Fostering the theatrical interest and talent of the next generation of Indians has been an important goal of Natya Bharati. To this end the organization has increasingly attracted and involved second generation Indians both on and off stage. Second generation Indians have been center-stage as the cast and crew (Ekalavya, in English), taken on script-adaptation and direction (Double Game, in English), and played a key role in a production that rang true to their generation (Na Idhar Ke Na Udhar Ke, in Hindi and English). All roles, such as - playwright, cast, and crew were fulfilled by our 2nd generation budding artists for our recent play For the Love of Cricket, which was very well received and attracted a very large number of younger generation audience members expanding Natya Bharati outreach in a very significant way. In 2015, Natya Bharati hosted a mega successful 30th Anniversary Play Festival, which included both plays acted and directed by Natya Bharati’s veteran actors and actors/directors from the next generation South Asian talent groups like SAPAN (Here We Are).
In addition to serving audiences in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC, some of Natya Bharati’s productions have toured other cities in the northeast including Pittsburgh, New York and Richmond. In 2006, Natya Bharati was invited to present the premiere show at the first South Asian Theater Festival held in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where the production Yayaati received wide critical acclaim. Recently, they presented Adhe Adure in Los Angeles, and Taconic Parkway in Delaware and New Jersey.
Natya Bharati is sustained solely by community support, through membership fees and donations. All members of its Executive Committee, Advisory Committee, and the Board of Trustees are volunteers.