Puppetry feature of show
New Zealand's Indian Ink Theatre Company will bring their acclaimed show Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream to Dunedin in September.
Written by Indian Ink founders Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis, and directed by Lewis, the production combines theatre, comedy, puppetry, and music.
In a statement, Indian Ink said Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream showcased Rajan's unique solo performance talents, channelling seven characters, while weaving a story of the afterlife with a dash of Bollywood into the real-life mystery of India's vanishing vulture.
In typical Indian Ink style, Rajan will be accompanied on stage by a crafted life-size vulture, created and puppeteered by Jon Coddington.
Rajan said the premise of the show was that our lives are but melting ice cream and the transition between this world and the next is never easy.
For main character Kutisar, it is made profoundly more difficult when his passage to paradise depends on the guidance of a vulture, but they have disappeared from India's skies.
A rebellious young woman from Mumbai's enigmatic Parsi community — a people whose faith is entwined with the vulture — holds the key that may yet deliver him.
Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream was inspired by Ernest Becker's Pulitzer prize-winning Denial of Death, and the vibrant, life-filled chaos of India's most cosmopolitan city.
Rajan and Lewis had the idea for the script after a trip to Mumbai in 2019. The pair were captivated by the city, its people and its secrets — in particular the mystery of India's vanishing vultures, one of the fastest mass extinctions of all time.
Indian Ink are one of Aotearoa's most celebrated theatre companies, and Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream is a testament to their success. Following a critically acclaimed New Zealand tour in 2021, the production captivated audiences across Hawai'i, Australia, Canada and Singapore. — APL
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