Abhilash Pillai

Abhilash Pillai (born 17 May 1969) is an Indian theatre director, both pedagogue and scholar of contemporary Indian theatre.^[1][2]

Abhilash Pillai
Born	Abhilash Pillai (1969-05-17) 17 May 1969 (age 55) Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	National School of Drama, New Delhi Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London
Occupations	Theatre director Scenographer Academic

Early life and education

Abhilash Pillai was born on 17 May 1969 at Trivandrum to S. R. K. Pillai and Sarada Pillai.^{[citation needed]} 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][dead link‍]}

Career

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]

Major directorial works

Year	Title	Dramaturge	Production Company	Premier Show
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]
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	National School of Drama[10]
2009	Helen	Sujith Shankar(translated by Rajesh Tailang)	Japan Foundation Asia	Japan, Korea & Bharat Rang Mahotsav[11]
2006	Midnight's Children	Salman Rushdie's novel co-adapted and translated into Hindustani by Himanshu B Joshi	National School of Drama	Abhimanch Auditorium New Delhi & Bharat Rang Mahotsav,[12][13]
2005	Shakuntala	Russian language (a Sanskrit classical play) by Kālidāsa	Russian Academy of Theatre Arts- (GITIS)	Moscow [14]
2000	Things Can Change in a Day	Drawn from 'The God of Small Things' of Arundhati Roy	Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre	Thiruvananthapuram[15]

Awards

• 2003 – National Sanskriti Award 2002–03 (National Cultural Award) for achievements in theatre in December 2003 by Sanskriti Pratishtan, New Delhi^[16]
• 2012 – Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award for Theatre Direction^[17][18]

References

1. "Director Abhilash Pillai on exploring the mind of an artist in Blindside". 24 January 2019.
2. Paul, G. S. (8 December 2011). "New act on stage". The Hindu.
3. "Account Suspended". theatrefestivalkerala.com.
4. Bajeli, Diwan Singh (21 May 2015). "Destination unknown". The Hindu.
5. "National School of Drama – [NSD], New Delhi". Collegedunia.
6. Bhuyan, Avantika (18 November 2016). "Lounge loves: A multi-disciplinary 'Tempest' from Kerala". Mint.
7. Phukan, Vikram (20 December 2016). "A tent filled with Shakespeare's magic". The Hindu.
8. "Theatre finds a new way of expression through Talatum: A Contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's Tempest". Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
9. "Shakespeare's Tempest to get a circus-style makeover". The Times of India. 20 December 2016.
10. Anima, P. (29 October 2009). "The world of Basheer". The Hindu.
11. Gohel, Himalay K. "Transformation in Contemporary Indian Theater: Abhilash Pillai's Helen – Archée".
12. "The Japan Foundation – Performing Women – 3 Reinterpretations from Greek Tragedy". jpf.go.jp. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
13. "More Lights for Indian Stage". The Financial Express. 1 January 2006.
14. "Schedule" (PDF). dwih.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
15. "The Director's Cut, : www.MumbaiTheatreGuide.com". mumbaitheatreguide.com.
16. "Sanskriti Awards announced". The Hindu. 28 November 2003.^{[dead link‍]}
17. "Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award for Abhilash Pillai".
18. "Drama, Awards, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi". keralaculture.org.