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A Theatre of Dawn and Depth
A Theatre of Dawn and Depth
Vihaan Drama Works is not just a repertory. It is a lived practice. A discipline. A collective remembering — Of why we gather, why we speak, why we become.
Vihaan Drama Works is not just a repertory. It is a lived practice. A discipline. A collective remembering — Of why we gather, why we speak, why we become.
Founded in 2011 by theatre director and educator Sourabh Anant, Vihaan was born from a quiet play (Kanupriya) and a radical question: Can theatre be more than performance? Can it be a way of living, feeling, and evolving together?
The word ‘Vihaan’ means dawn — and like dawn, it began softly but held within it a fierce clarity. It was the dream of a space — not just to perform, but to practice, train, and transform.
Very early in this journey, Shweta Ketkar and Hemant Deolekar joined hands with Anant — and what began as a solitary dream became a collaborative force. Together, they built Vihaan not just as a theatre group but as a creative sanctuary for young energies to explore their inner art with freedom and discipline.
Over the years, Vihaan has become a confluence of forms — Where theatre meets music, dance meets design, storytelling meets silence, and tradition meets the contemporary. It has evolved into a space for collaboration, learning, dialogue, and daring experimentation.
Today, Vihaan is one of India’s most active young theatre collectives — with over 300 performances across 15+ states, and works that are rooted in honesty, craft, and transformation.
It is not just a theatre company. It is a way of being.
A rehearsal for a better, deeper world.
A Theatre of Process and Presence
A Theatre of Process and Presence
At Vihaan, rehearsal is sacred. Here, a line is not just spoken—it is searched, tasted, lived. We trust silence as much as sound, and failure as much as form.
Our practice draws from both classical and contemporary traditions — From the Nāṭyaśāstra, which sees drama as a cosmic act of transformation, To Grotowski, Suzuki, and Odin Teatret, where the actor becomes their own instrument of refinement.
This is theatre as sādhanā—a daily discipline of listening, failing, refining, and becoming.
Repertory
Repertory
The Ensemble and the Evolution
The Ensemble and the Evolution
Led by Sourabh Anant, the Vihaan ensemble has evolved into a multi-generational creative ecosystem.
Long-time collaborators Shweta Ketkar and Hemant Deolekar joined early in the journey and have remained integral to the collective spirit.
The next generation—young artists, musicians, managers, and educators—now carries the torch:
Ankit Paroche, Shubham Katiyar, Tejaswita Anant, Isha Goswami, Ansh Joshi, Rudraksh Bhayre, Gracy Goswami, Amit Mishra, Sanjeev Bharti, Aniruddha Chouthmol, Vishakha Rajurkar, Sajal Deep Khare, Nitesh Rajesh, and many more.
Each member brings their own voice, and yet listens to the shared rhythm.
Our Work: Repertoire and Reach
Our Work: Repertoire and Reach
Vihaan's work ranges from classical Sanskrit dramas to folk-inspired devised works, from site-specific storytelling to large-scale ensemble plays.
Some of our notable productions include:
Totto Chan, Gandhi Gaatha, Charandas Chor, Hasyachudamani, Duphara, Raidas, Peelee Poonchh, and Kabui Keoiba.
These plays have been performed at major festivals including:
Bharat Rang Mahotsav, Theatre Olympics, Jashn-e-Bachpan, Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Bharat Utsav, Jayrangam, Samhita Manch, and at cultural platforms like LBSNAA Mussoorie, Azim Premji Foundation, RIE Bhopal, and NID.
In January 2025, Vihaan became one of the first Indian groups to present six different plays in six consecutive days—
a rare achievement in contemporary theatre.
Our large-scale productions such as Shivaji (with 250 children) and Ramayan (with 150 children) reflect our belief in theatre as collective creation, not individual spectacle.
Theatre as Pedagogy and Practice
Theatre as Pedagogy and Practice
Vihaan is not only a performance collective—it is also a learning ground.
Through over 60 workshops, we’ve trained 1000+ students, educators, and young professionals across India.
We work extensively with schools, tribal belts, rural regions, and academic institutions—bringing theatre to where it's most needed.
Our initiatives include:
Swapnyaan – our children’s theatre wing
Maargi – our experimental musical collective
Theatrics, Theorics, Poetics, Theatre Talk – platforms for workshops, discussions, and interdisciplinary exchange
A Cultural Ashram
A Cultural Ashram
Vihaan is registered as a socio-cultural NGO. But more than that, it has grown into a kind of cultural ashram—
a living space of training, dialogue, design, performance, and reflection.
Here, art is not part of life.
Art is life.
Our rehearsal spaces become homes.
Our classrooms become stages.
Our performances become prayers.
We are working toward building a permanent cultural campus—with:
A performance auditorium
An international theatre research centre
A Children’s Drama School
An in-house archive and theatre literature library (in progress)
A documentary series on contemporary Indian theatre (in progress)
Rasa and Relevance
Rasa and Relevance
We believe in rasa—not as sentiment, but as encounter.
To perform is to dissolve—into the rebel, the river, the fool, the forest, the forgotten.
In a world rushing toward spectacle, we move toward sincerity.
Our theatre holds the urgency of now and the timelessness of tradition.
Each play asks:
What does it mean to be truly present?
Can performance become an offering?
A Quiet Rebellion
A Quiet Rebellion
Vihaan Drama Works is a quiet rebellion—
Against noise, speed, and superficiality.
We do not rush our plays; we ripen them.
We do not package stories; we craft them.
This is not theatre as industry, but theatre as invitation.
An invitation to pay attention. To return. To begin again.
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