New Delhi: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) presents Virasat, a hyperrealist staging of celebrated Marathi playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar’s acclaimed Wada trilogy, directed by Anuradha Kapur as a single performance at Sunder Nursery from 24 to 27 September 2026, with previews at Black Box Okhla. 

Commissioned by KNMA and developed in residence at Black Box Okhla, Virasat is a generational saga that maps the lives of the Deshpandes of Dharangaon upon the landscape of a rapidly changing India. Widely regarded as one of India’s most significant playwrights, Elkunchwar traces the crumbling of a once prosperous feudal household, as shifting social circumstances upturn the lives of the family.

Working with her long-time collaborator, acclaimed scenographer and theatre-maker Deepan Sivaraman, whose practice is known for reimagining theatrical space through immersive, site-responsive scenography, Kapur amalgamates Elkunchwar’s three plays into a single, unified production. Anchored by the presence of a pond that serves as both a physical and symbolic centre, the production evokes stagnation, memory, and the slow decay of the once-vibrant wada (ancestral mansion), transforming the pond into a powerful metaphor for the family’s decline.Departing from the conventional proscenium stage, the production adopts an arena stage that places audiences within the architecture of the performance itself.  Audiences are also invited deeper into the production through what Kapur describes as a “hyperrealist score of action”, a performance language in which everyday activities unfold in real time. Cooking, cleaning, waiting, quarrelling, ageing and mourning are performed with painstaking precision, allowing duration itself to become a dramaturgical device. The result dissolves the conventional boundary between theatrical representation and lived experience, allowing audiences to inhabit time alongside the performers rather than simply observe it. 

Anuradha Kapur, “Mahesh Elkunchwar’s Wada play trilogy is unique because it is an epic of the everyday. As a theatre maker, this is what interests me. There are no heroic characters, only local histories mapped on ordinary lives. The characters in the play are defined by the quotidian. Everyday objects determine the width and breadth of a lifetime; fulfilling daily routines in order to sustain the business of living is a regulating objective.”

Aditi Jaitly Jadeja, Senior Curator Performing Art, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, “Virasat is part of an ongoing collaboration between KNMA and Black Box, Okhla, rooted in a shared commitment to supporting rigorous theatre practice and new creative processes. Developed in residence at Black Box, the production reflects a sustained investment in the making of ambitious new work and in strengthening Delhi’s theatre landscape through long-term artistic collaboration. The play’s presentation at Sunder Nursery further expands opportunities for audiences to engage with contemporary theatre in a public setting.”

Nikhil Mehta, Founder and Artistic Director, Black Box Okhla, “Theatre is how we tell a story through time and space. It lives ephemerally between the artist, the space, and an audience. The first stage of developing a show is when theatre-makers explore the text, space and tech. The second, when the show meets an audience, and grows to find itself in relationship with the spectator. What makes this collaboration between KNMA and Black Box Okhla unique is its  commitment to both these stages of development. A rare investment in the craft and care required to make theatre.” 

The production’s musical landscape draws from Hindustani classical, Marathi folk traditions, popular songs, radio broadcasts and regional performance practices, creating an immersive sonic environment that situates the family’s intimate world within a larger cultural memory. 

This iteration of the production brings together a new cast and creative team to revisit one of modern India’s classical epics. Originally staged by Anuradha Kapur with The National School of Drama Repertory Company in 2013 in New Delhi, the production returns in a newly commissioned presentation by KNMA.