Instagram story viewer> @madplays> Posts

Madhuri Shekar

@madplays

821

posts

3.6K

followers

1980

following

I write plays and movies and TV.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

The über talented playwright Madhuri Shekar will be available to answer the whos, the whats and the whys of her play ‘A Nice Indian Boy’.
Join us for live, virtual talkbacks after the shows on Aug 2nd & Aug 6th. Tickets in the bio! taken in Asia Society Texas Center by @madplays

136

3

4 days ago

My husband’s op-ed in the Jersey City Times. ICE continues to terrorize our neighbors, subsidized by our money and enriching the worst of the worst. Please read and share. Link in bio. #DelaneyHall by @madplays

54

1

2 months ago

The world premiere of THE GREAT ANT SLEEPOVER is running at the @alliancetheatre in Atlanta through July 5! This project started as a picture book commission, illustrated by the divine @nicolekangahn. I was then invited to turn it into a musical, re-teaming with songwriting marvels @albrightandmagby, and directed by @mrjdjude, with whom I made THE INCREDIBLE BOOK EATING BOY a few years ago.

It was such an honor, a great privilege of my parenting life, to bring my family to Atlanta and watch my boys get so invested in something I wrote for and about them! To sing along with them afterwards, because these catchy songs WILL NOT LEAVE YOUR HEAD. 😂

Forever grateful to the Alliance Theater co-AD Chris Moses, who has been commissioning me to write plays and musicals for young people for over a decade now. I hope I get to do this for the rest of my life. by @madplays

114

6

2 months ago

I’m so excited to share that Seamus’s new book - his debut novel!!!! - is releasing tomorrow, September 30. DAEDALUS IS DEAD, published by @Tordotcompub, is a poetic, propulsive, and viscerally gripping retelling of the Daedalus myth, one that will leave you breathless and shaken by the end. No, I’m not overselling it. Yes, I’m biased. Shut up.

I see the deeper resonances Seamus has brought to this book — telling the story of a flawed father, a failed citizen, an unreliable narrator — even as he himself continues to be the best of partners, the best of friends, the best of fathers, and the person I look to for hope when everything seems pointless. The person who reminds me that change and righteous anger is still possible in our times of deep demoralization. I am so very very proud of him, and excited for the many books he has inside of him that will be shared with the world in his long career to come.

You can pre-order or buy the book & audiobook at @bookshop_org, @librofm or at your local bookstore. Or you can request a copy from your local library. Let me know what you think when you read it!! Book club!!!! by @madplays

166

26

10 months ago

Happy closing weekend to the entire company of Madhuri Shekar’s DHABA ON DEVON AVENUE!

Thanks to the amazing cast and designers, the production team, crew and staffs at Writers Theatre and TimeLine Theatre for giving life to this Chicago play, and a home for the city’s South Asian community during the run.

Our cast includes Isa Arciniegas, Mueen Jahan, Arya Daire, Anish Jethmalani, and Tina Muñoz Pandya. The understudies are Laura Quiñones, Maliha Sayed, and Jonathan Shaboo.

Our design team includes Lauren M. Nichols (set); Christine A. Binder (lights); Christine Pascual (costumes); Eric Backus (sound); and Kristina Fluty (intimacy). Our production stage manager is Katie Klemme, and our assistant director is Mantra Radhakrishnan.

Dhaba Canteen has been a stalwart institution on Chicago’s Devon Avenue since the ‘60s, serving up delicious Sindhi food with the power to transport diners back to the halcyon days of undivided India. Times are changing, however. With the bank threatening foreclosure and Chef Neeraj’s health in decline, the restaurant may soon be cooking up its last meal-unless sous chef Rita can convince her father to let her take over the kitchen. Rich with culinary tradition and dramatic twists, Dhaba on Devon Avenue serves up a searing Chicago-set story of family, legacy, and survival at all costs. taken in Writers Theatre by @madplays

253

3

a year ago

Friends, come experience the incredible work of this company of actors in Madhuri Shekar’s “powerful” DHABA ON DEVON AVENUE at Writers Theatre (a co-production with TimeLine Theatre).

We run through July 27. Tickets are going fast.

Dhaba Canteen has been a stalwart institution on Chicago’s Devon Avenue since the ‘60s, serving up delicious Sindhi food with the power to transport diners back to the halcyon days of undivided India. Times are changing, however. With the bank threatening foreclosure and Chef Neeraj’s health in decline, the restaurant may soon be cooking up its last meal—unless sous chef Rita can convince her father to let her take over the kitchen. Rich with culinary tradition and dramatic twists, Dhaba on Devon Avenue serves up a searing Chicago-set story of family, legacy, and survival at all costs.

For tickets and information: www.writerstheatre.org/events/dhaba-on-devon-avenue taken in Writers Theatre by @madplays

84

2

a year ago

We were honored to cater the world premiere of Dhaba on Devon Avenue at @writers_theatre . The play was written by @madplays , who also wrote the play which @aniceindianboyfilm was based on.

It was exciting to watch as everyone gathered to see the famed writer Madhuri Shekar do Indus’s gol gappa shots!

#indus #highlandpark #progressiveindiancuisine #indiancatering #writerstheatre taken in Writers Theatre by @madplays

149

2

a year ago

Happy opening to Madhuri Shekar, the cast, design and production teams, and the staffs of TimeLine Theatre and Writers Theatre!

About five years ago, the pandemic shut down the world premiere production of Madhuri’s DHABA ON DEVON AVENUE at Victory Gardens.

Now, with the incredible partnership and leaderships of two landmark Chicago theatres, we are finally able to share this play with Chicago, and in particular, with the South Asian community in Illinois.

Our cast includes Isa Arciniegas, Arya Daire, Mueen Jahan, Anish Jethmalani, and Tina Muñoz Pandya.

The design team is Lauren M. Nichols
(Scenic); Christine Pascual (Costumes); Christine A. Binder (Lighting); and Eric Backus (Sound). Kristina Fluty is our Intimacy Director, and Karina Patel is our
dramaturg. Katie Klemme is the Production Stage Manager; and Alexis Wiley is the Assistant Stage Manager. Mantra Radhakrishnan is my Assistant Director.

We run through July 27.

Dhaba Canteen has been a stalwart institution on Chicago’s Devon Avenue since the ‘60s, serving up delicious Sindhi food with the power to transport diners back to the halcyon days of undivided India. Times are changing, however. With the bank threatening foreclosure and Chef Neeraj’s health in decline, the restaurant may soon be cooking up its last meal—unless sous chef Rita can convince her father to let her take over the kitchen. Rich with culinary tradition and dramatic twists, Dhaba on Devon Avenue serves up a searing Chicago-set story of family, legacy, and survival at all costs.

For more information: www.writerstheatre.org/events/dhaba-on-devon-avenue taken in Writers Theatre by @madplays

269

3

a year ago

“There wasn’t really a place for my parents back in Sindh. Dadima’s entire family was killed when they tried to cross the border into India - she was the only one who survived. There was no place for her in the refugee camps, but she found a corner to sleep in anyway. There was no place for my father to find a job in Amritsar, but he did, at the Dhaba where he eventually met my mother. There was no place and no possibility for them to have a child, but they had me nevertheless. And when we got here, we fought for every inch of land and money. For respect. There was no possibility for someone like your mother to pick someone like me, but she did. There was no place for a restaurant that served our kind of food, but we carved this out against all odds and built a home. For our community. For you. We claimed it. Didn’t let it go. No one ever gives us a place, Sindhu, we fight for it. We earn it.” - DHABA ON DEVON AVENUE

In the midst of so much darkness this week, it’s been a comfort to be in the dark, teching and rehearsing Madhuri Shekar’s poignant and moving play, DHABA ON DEVON AVENUE.

Madhuri brings a much needed light to the plight and dreams of immigrants and refugees who escape from war to struggle to make a home on this shore. My heart breaks at the end of every runthrough and preview.

Please come experience Madhuri’s play and the exceptional work of this wonderful cast and design team.

We are now in previews and open next Friday. taken in Writers Theatre by @madplays

285

3

a year ago

🎭 Art Imitating Life ✨

🎙️ Podcast: Jack Of All Journeys @jackofalljourney
🧛🏻 Host: Adi Naidu @adinaidude
🤵🏻 Guest: Agastya Kohli @insta.agastya @pratidhwani.seattle

A beautiful play, written by @madplays and directed by Agastya Kohli

#podcast #Theater #Play #Seattle #HouseOfJoy #nriindians taken in Seattle, Washington by @madplays

52

7

a year ago

Nothing like watching #ANiceIndianBoy with a theater full of film lovers! 🎞️ A huge thanks to @usccinema and @indianfilmfestival for hosting this incredible evening.

Catch the film in theaters in the US and Canada FRIDAY–tickets on sale at the link in our bio.

🎥 @devanshipunch831 by @madplays

148

8

a year ago

@nymag is keeping a record of the people being detained, deported and disappeared by the US government. As of now, Thursday morning 3/27, they’re still behind because a university of Alabama student was kidnapped by ICE yesterday and the article hasn’t been updated yet, I’m sure it will be soon. The kidnappings are escalating rapidly. The disappearances are deeply terrifying. No due process, plainclothes thugs snatching you off the street. Your lawyers and families not knowing where they’ve taken you. by @madplays

75

13

a year ago