| Abhilash Pillai | |
| Birth Name: | Abhilash Pillai |
| Birth Date: | 17 May 1969 |
| Birth Place: | Trivandrum, Kerala, India |
| Nationality: | Indian |
Abhilash Pillai (born 17 May 1969) is an Indian theatre director, both pedagogue and scholar of contemporary Indian theatre.[1] [2]
Abhilash Pillai was born on 17 May 1969 at Trivandrum to S. R. K. Pillai and Sarada Pillai. In 1991, he completed his Bachelor of Theatre Arts from The School of Drama, University of Calicut and secured third rank. He also completed a three-year Postgraduate Diploma in Dramatics with a specialization in Design and Direction from the National School of Drama, New Delhi, with distinction in 1994. He then obtained a two-year diploma in Theatre Production and Stage Management with honors from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London in 1998. He also did a one-year intensive training in advanced theatre direction in association with eminent directors in the Orange Tree Theatre, United Kingdom during 1998 and 1999 and attained his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi in 2012.[3]
Pillai began his career in theatre as an artistic director at the Abhinaya Theatre and Research Centre, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) in Kerala. He worked there from September 1999 to April 2001. Later, he was appointed as an assistant professor at National School of Drama, New Delhi and rose to become the dean of academics from July 2008 to June 2011 and 2019 to 2021. In 2016 he became an associate professor at the National School of Drama. Presently, he is a visiting faculty/play director at many universities in India and abroad. He is also the chairman of Arnav Art Trust since 2011 and a committee member of Natrang Pratishtan, New Delhi. He works as a professor at National School of Drama and he is also executive director of the Asia Theatre Education Center (ATEC) Central Academy Of Drama, Beijing, China[4] [5]
| Year | Title | Production Company | Premier Show | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Anth Se Arambh | Playwright By Ravi Kant Mishra | Arnav Arts Trust and Sahitya Kala Parishad, Delhi | Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi | |
| 2018 | Blindside | National School Of Drama | National School Of Drama | ||
| 2017 | The Night Side of Life | Sasikumar. V | Ex-Theatre Asia | ||
| 2016 | Talatum | Sasikumar. V | Tempest with a Twist by Sasikumar. V combining Theatre actors & circus performers in a circus tent | Serendipity Art Trust,[6] [7] [8] [9] | |
| 2016 | Radio Freedom | Rajesh Tailang | |||
| 2015 | Lorem Ipsum | ||||
| 2014 | VIVID | Combining two scripts by Mahesh Elkunchwar & Vijay Tendulkar | |||
| 2013 | Avudai | A performance based on Kanchana Natrajan's book 'Transgressing Boundaries'' | Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts New Delhi | ||
| 2012 | Kalo Sonakhari (Black Orchid) | A non-verbal play with the Repertory company of NSD Sikkim Centre | NSD Sikkim Centre | NSD Sikkim Centre | |
| 2012 | Clowns & Clouds | Devised | |||
| 2009 | ara Ek Bada Basheer (A Bit Big Basheer) | Rajesh Tailang combining seven works of Malayalam Novelist Vaikom Muhammed Basheer in Hindi | National School of Drama[10] | ||
| 2009 | Helen | Sujith Shankar(translated by Rajesh Tailang) | Japan Foundation Asia | Japan, Korea & Bharat Rang Mahotsav[11] | |
| 2007 | Bhooth Gadi (Ghost Train' by Arnold Ridley) | New Delhi | |||
| 2007 | Tajmahal | Shama Futehallly and translated by Himanshu B Joshi | New Delhi | ||
| 2006 | Clytemnestra | It is a theatre collaboration between India, Iran & Uzbekistan | Bharat Rang Mahotsav | ||
| 2006 | Palm Grove Tales | Based on O. V. Vijayan s novelette titled 'The Legends of Khassak' Khasakkinte Itihasam, the writer and scenic designer Deepan Sivaraman | School of Drama and Fine Arts, Thrissur | School of Drama and Fine Arts, Thrissur | |
| 2006 | Midnight's Children | Salman Rushdie's novel co-adapted and translated into Hindustani by Himanshu B Joshi | Abhimanch Auditorium New Delhi & Bharat Rang Mahotsav,[12] [13] | ||
| 2005 | Rabia-Meera | Bharatnatayam dancer- Seema Agarwal was performed in collaboration with as theatre director | Abhimanch Auditorium, New Delhi | ||
| 2005 | Holi (In Punjabi and Hindi) | Mahesh Elkunchwar | An academic production put up at the Studio Theatre, Department of Indian Theatre, Punjab University | Chandigarh | |
| 2005 | Shakuntala | Russian language (a Sanskrit classical play) by Kālidāsa | Russian Academy of Theatre Arts- (GITIS) | Moscow[14] | |
| 2004 | Memories of a Legend | Inspired by 'The Babur Nama- Memories of Babur', multilingual (Ten languages of South Asia) | Japan Foundation, Tokyo | ||
| 2003 | Island of Blood | City festival in Berlin, Germany & South Asia Theatre Festival in Tokyo, Japan. | |||
| 2003 | KARN | A multimedia production inspired from Mahabharata | New Delhi, Korea & China | ||
| 2003 | Urubhangam | Bhasa's Sanskrit play translated to Kannada | It was formed from a production-oriented Theatre Workshop for the Ninasam Theatre Institute, Heggodu | Karnataka | |
| 2002 | Prometheus Bound of Aeschylus | Greek classic translated into Hindi | |||
| 2001 | Verdigris | ('KIave' in Malayalam) a production inspired from the famous novelette, Thottiyute Makan (Scavenger's Son) of Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai | Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre | Thiruvananthapuram & Festival de Almeda in Portugal, Hyderabad & Jammu | |
| 2001 | Saketam (Malayalam) | National Theatre Festival & Fukuoka, Japan | |||
| 2000 | Things Can Change in a Day | Drawn from 'The God of Small Things' of Arundhati Roy | Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre | Thiruvananthapuram[15] | |
| 1999 | Survivors (English) | Amrit Wilson | United Kingdom | ||
| 1996 | Aa Manushian Nee Thanne | C. J. Thomas | International Theatre Festival of Kerala & South Zone Culture Centre, Thiruvananthapuram | ||
| 1994 | Lanka Lakshmi | National School of Drama | |||
| 1992 | Cherry Orchard- Scene Work (Hindi) | School of Drama and Fine Arts | |||
| 1990 | Kodumkattu (Tempest) | William Shakespeare | School of Drama and Fine Arts | School of Drama and Fine Arts | |
| 1990 | Subhala Vajra Thundam | Malayalam translation from Sanskrit (Children's play) by Srirama adapted by P.J. Unnikrishnan | School of Drama and Fine Arts | School of Drama and Fine Arts | |
| 1989 | Oru Kootam Urumpukal, (A group of Ants) Children's play | School of Drama and Fine Arts |