The New York City return of Shayok Misha Chowdhury's bilingual play Public Obscenities began performances at Brooklyn's Polonsky Shakespeare Center January 17. The limited run, which is presented by Theatre for a New Audience, will continue through February 18. See the company, creatives, and guests celebrate the production in the photos below.
Public Obscenities is written and directed by Chowdhury, and is performed in Bangla and English. The work had its world premiere at Soho Rep in spring 2023.
Shayok Misha Chowdhury and Tashnuva Anan
Jakeem Dante Powell
NaFis and Abrar Haque
Shayok Misha Chowdhury, Martyna Majok, and Debashis Roy Chowdhury
Caleb Hammons, Cynthia Flowers, Meropi Peponides, Sam Morreale, and Eric Ting
Jakeem Dante Powell
Shayok Misha Chowdhury
Jakeem Dante Powell, Abrar Haque, Shayok Misha Chowdhury, Golam Sarwar Harun, Tashnuva Anan, NaFis, Gargi Mukherjee, and Debashis Roy Chowdhury
Mark Russell and Jeffrey Horowitz
Jakeem Dante Powell, Abrar Haque, Shayok Misha Chowdhury, Golam Sarwar Harun, Tashnuva Anan, NaFis, Gargi Mukherjee, and Debashis Roy Chowdhury
Grace McLean
Oliver Butler
Shayok Misha Chowdhury and Martyna Majok
Aasif Mandvi
Returning to the cast from the world premiere are Tashnuva Anan as Shou, Debashis Roy Chowdhury as Pishe, Abrar Haque as Choton, Golam Sarwar Harun as Jitesh, Gargi Mukherjee as Pishimoni, NaFis as Sebanti, and Jakeem Dante Powell as Raheem. Rounding out the company are understudies Shreyo Banerjee, Rajib Bhattacharya, Jonathan Nathaniel Dingle-El, Komolika, and Mita Paul. Casting is by Stephanie Yankwitt.
The play follows Ph.D. student Choton, who visits family in Kolkata on a research trip with his Black American boyfriend Raheem. Choton loves translating between Bangla and English, interviewing queer locals, and showing Raheem his world, but Raheem begins to notice things Choton can't.
READ: Shayok Misha Chowdhury Took His Life in India and Turned It Into Public Obscenities
Public Obscenities features scenic design by Peiyi Wong, costume design by Enver Chakartash, lighting design by Barbara Samuels, video/projection design by Johnny Moreno, sound design by Tei Blow, and prop design by Patricia Marjorie. Tenley Pitonzo is production stage manager, and Tommy Kurzman is the hair and makeup stylist. Teniece Divya Johnson is the original intimacy director, with Shaquan M. Pearson as intimacy consultant. Sarah Lunnie serves as dramaturg, with Sukanya Chakrabarti as cultural dramaturg. The work is presented by Theatre for a New Audience, and produced by Soho Rep and NAATCO National Partnership Project.
