Entertainment · Books & Arts · 14 hrs ago
Naseeruddin Shah to play Salman Rushdie in stage adaptation of memoir
A new stage play, 27 Seconds, is based on Salman Rushdie’s memoir about a knife attack and its aftermath.
Rushdie was attacked on August 12, 2022, at the Chautauqua Institution in New York State.
He survived but permanently lost vision in his right eye.
Naseeruddin Shah will play Rushdie, and Malaika Choudhury will play his wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths.
The play was adapted by Shah and theatre director Kaushik Sen, with co-direction by Arghya Lahiri.
Rushdie’s team agreed to the adaptation on the condition that the script use words from his book.
The production is set to open at the Prithvi Theatre Festival next month.
Naseeruddin Shah will play Salman Rushdie in 27 Seconds, a stage adaptation of Rushdie’s memoir about the 2022 knife attack and its aftermath.
The play, produced by Motley Productions, will open at the Prithvi Theatre Festival next month.
Malaika Choudhury will play Rushdie’s wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, alongside an ensemble cast.
Shah and theatre director Kaushik Sen are dramaturges behind the stage adaptation, which Shah is co-directing with Arghya Lahiri.
The attack took place on August 12, 2022, at the Chautauqua Institution amphitheater in New York State, and left Rushdie permanently blind in his right eye.
- Who
- Naseeruddin Shah will play Salman Rushdie. Malaika Choudhury will play Rushdie’s wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths.
- What
- Motley Productions is staging 27 Seconds, an adaptation of Rushdie’s memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder.
- When
- The play is due to open next month. The attack it depicts took place on August 12, 2022.
- Where
- The play will open at the Prithvi Theatre Festival. The attack occurred at the Chautauqua Institution amphitheater in New York State.
- Why
- The play brings Rushdie’s account of the attack and its aftermath, and his reflections on the experience, to the stage.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
I have been an admirer of Naseer’s for a very long time. I’m delighted he has taken on this project.
It is a representation
The only caveat was that the script had to have words from his book. So, everything that anybody says in this play is directly from the text.
Salman Rushdie was attacked with a knife at the Chautauqua Institution amphitheater in New York State.
Rushdie’s memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder was released.
Work began on the play, and Shah and Kaushik Sen contacted Rushdie’s team to secure adaptation rights.
27 Seconds is scheduled to open at the Prithvi Theatre Festival.
- Play
- 27 Seconds
- Lead role
- Naseeruddin Shah as Salman Rushdie
- Co-star
- Malaika Choudhury as Rachel Eliza Griffiths
- Source memoir
- Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
- Attack date
- August 12, 2022
- Opening venue
- Prithvi Theatre Festival
Sources
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