The name Alkazi is not new to theatre, with the association going back decades. Saudi-Indian theatre director Ebrahim Alkazi was a renowned name in theatre circles, and his son Feisal Alkazi, a theatre veteran with a career spanning 53 years has made a mark of his own in the field, with over 300 plays to his credit, in diverse genres.
Despite the years, Feisal says the process of directing plays interests him as much as it did when he first started out. “I take up plays that I don’t know how to direct. I always work with a different set of characters, actors and scenes. This is how I learn and unlearn, and it is never the same process twice. There is a lot of experimentation involved and that is how I like it.”
Barbaad and Jigsaw, he says, are relevant even today. Both of them are produced by the Delhi-based Ruchika Theatre Group, known for their socially-relevant dramatisations.
Barbaad is the Hindi adaptation of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play Ruined. It examines the brutal intersections of conflict, exploitation and survival, themes that feel even more urgent today, Feisal says.
While the original play is set in Congo, the Indian adaptation is not that different except for geography, Feisal adds. “I was struck by how “Indian” the play felt when I first read it over a decade ago. In any conflict or a civil war, women are usually the victims of crimes that happen. Conflict becomes a battleground for all sorts of ideologies and women are always caught in the crossfire as they are positioned on the edge of vulnerability.”
After obtaining Nottage’s consent, Feisal adapted Barbaad into Hindi, and it was supposed to be staged in 2020, but got pushed to 2025 due to the pandemic. “Even though it took five years, I wanted to bring this to the stage because I am personally invested in the story. Barbaad is not merely about devastation, but is a reflection on how systems of power operate across geographies and how easily societies learn to look away.”
Feisal says his process of directing has changed from when he began. “When you’re young you tend to be dictatorial. But, as I have grown with this field, my process of directing has also evolved. Now, people tell me I have become democratic and diverse in what I do.”
This is how Feisal came to choose his second play for the weekend. Jigsaw is a bittersweet contemporary comedy that looks at identity, parentage and relationships through the lens of three adults searching for their origins. It is performed by an ensemble cast of 13 actors spanning five decades. “At its heart, the production is a warm, humane exploration of what family means in a fractured, contemporary world,” Feisal says.
Feisal Alkazi’s Jigsaw will be staged in Bengaluru on Saturday (January 3, 2026) at Ranga Shankara.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
The play follows a cantankerous Parsi man on his deathbed who tracks down three adults conceived from his sperm donation — Larissa, Haritas and Sweta who are each grappling with their own identities.
Though they do not meet each other on stage, the story connects three of them through the father. “The ages of the actors are between 20 and 70, so there is a wide range, which excites me. I love having actors play their own ages, instead of resorting to make up and pretense.”
To Feisal, Bengaluru is as exciting a location as Delhi, his home town. Both plays are being staged in Bengaluru after their Delhi premiere. “I like to bring an interesting mix of plays to the audience. I pick diverse themes because the audience in Bengaluru are varied.”
Feisal believes films are a commercial composition and theatre has a loyal set of audiences that resonate with different themes. “Films are always box-office driven and I am not into that,” Feisal says. He believes there are so many books that could be adapted and Feisal’s favourite genre is period drama. “I am drawn to the women’s movement and gender-related themes as well.”
One writer Feisal has always wanted to adapt from is Fyodor Dostoevsky. “I have tried Maxim Gorky, Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and Anton Chekov. I am keen to try Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov sometime.”
Barbaad will be staged at Ranga Shankara on January 2 at 7.30 pm. Jigsaw will be performed on January 3 at 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm. Tickets on bookmyshow.com.
