nirbhaya is an award-winning theatre production that depicts the horrific events of the 2012 Delhi gang rape. It interweaves the personal testimonies of five female cast members’ own experiences of sexual violence.
Sneha Jawale and Sapna Bhavnani are the only two non-professional actors in the cast of seven.
Sneha was a dowry bride whose face was burned in a kerosene attack carried out by her husband.
Sapna Bhavnani is women’s rights activist in Mumbai, India. Whilst living in the United States in her twenties she was attacked and gang-raped on a night out.
Ankur Vikal is the sole male actor in the cast and has the taxing job of depicting all the male characters in the production. The cast hopes that by sharing their own stories, it will inspire others to speak out against sexual violence.
The production opened at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival where it received the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression award and is currently playing at the Southbank Centre in London.
It will tour Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore in March.
thanks reuters
