Nandita Chaudhuri is a woman who wears several hats. A painter and sculptor, she has exhibited at major biennales, the British Museum, Royal Academy of Arts, Saatchi Gallery, and China Art Museum.
A poet and author, her book Unmasked won the 2025 International Excellence Award for Literature.
A theatre innovator, she translates poetry into song, dance, and drama, and pioneers technology-led art integrating audio, visual, and digital elements.
Speaking about her theatrical piece Displacement in an interview with FPJ, she mentions what it took to complete a theatre production from scratch in London and perform on stage to a packed house, all in a couple of months.
Actors showcase 'Displacement' |
How did your art book Unmasked turn into a multi-sensory environment where painting, digital works, poetry, sculpture, and theatre performance converge?
When I was writing Unmasked (published by Mapin), theatre wasn't on my mind at all. My journey was unfolding through painting, sculpting, and deeply philosophical poems — all of which converged in the book.
Unmasked is an exploration of the fragility of relationships and the hidden layers of human behaviour.
The turning point came during my solo show in London at the Zari Gallery, where I launched Unmasked alongside my paintings.
The creative process for me has always been an unending quest, a constant search for new forms of expression. After Unmasked was published, I realised I wasn't satiated. Just a couple of months ago, it struck me that the poems and thoughts within those pages were yearning to emerge through light, sound, voices, and enactment — a multi-sensory performance that could speak directly to the heart. That's how Displacement was born.
Why did you choose to call your theatrical piece Displacement? What’s the thought behind it?
Displacement is not merely about geography, as one might first assume. It is about moving from one phase of life to another, about being reborn repeatedly within a single lifetime.
Each evolution of thought, being, and identity traces its own migration.
Life's experiences arrive like waves on the shore — leaving their marks, sometimes deep, sometimes subtle, like drawings in the sand, only to be gently smoothed out as new experiences roll in. These layers of memory, feeling, and transformation accumulate quietly within us, shaping the self we shed and reclaim again and again.
The title reflects these inner and outer passages — the continuous weaving of past and present, the quiet yet profound rebirths that mark the journey of being human.
'Displacement' marked Nandita's journey as a first-time playwright |
You seem to have pushed the edges of contemporary art. How was the experience being a first-time playwright, director, author, and song composer?
To arrive in London — complete a theatre production from scratch, find the actors, the London stage and have a packed house — is no mean feat, all in a couple of months. That too with Covid, and a torn ligament thrown in for good measure.
I was on a creative high, as if everything I had practised in painting, writing, and performance had converged seamlessly into this one production. Writing, composing, directing, and even acting felt instinctive, as though every discipline I have practised came together naturally.
In just a couple of months in London, a Herculean feat quietly took shape. I found six remarkable actors and dancers, and together we created something extraordinary. The dialogues and lyrics of the songs came straight from Unmasked, unchanged.
I wrote the screenplay and the song compositions, performed alongside the cast, and together we poured ourselves into 40 hours of rehearsals, until we knew we had an ace theatre production ready.
For me, execution felt easy because my creative energies reached a crescendo — like a maestro in an opera, completely seduced by the music of his creation.
When we premiered in Mayfair, in the heart of the city, it was a packed house — so full that many in the audience had to stand, and we were worried about UK health and safety regulations. That moment affirmed that the leap had been worth it.
The theatrical performance opened to a packed house in London |
One strand of thought has found its way through several mediums of expression. But was it easy weaving the whole picture together? What challenges did you face during rehearsals?
It was never easy, but it was profoundly rewarding. Each art form has its own discipline; its own stubbornness. The challenge was to let them converse without one overpowering the other.
During rehearsals, timing became crucial — the dance had to breathe with the words, the digital art had to synchronise with the soundscape.
But what made the process exhilarating was that one strand of thought, expressed across different mediums, gained a stronger coherence. The vocabulary of the work took on unique dimensions as all five senses were engaged, creating a layering that provoked interpretations in myriad ways.
How did your work in different disciplines — painting, poetry, theatre, and technology — inform each other during the creation of Displacement?
Each discipline enriched the others. Painting informed the visual storytelling; poetry shaped the rhythm and cadence of dialogue; theatre brought movement and embodiment; and technology amplified the senses, creating immersive layers.
The interplay between these forms allowed a single thread of thought from Unmasked to be expressed in multiple dimensions, emotionally, visually, and aurally, reaching audiences in a fully immersive way.
Painting, poetry, theatre, and technology came together beautifully in 'Displacement' |
You have used technology splendidly in your art. But was the execution as easy as it seems? Is there any advice from your experience that you'd love to share with fellow artists?
When technology-led art is juxtaposed with painting and theatre, the outcome can be profoundly powerful. My advice would be to approach technology not as an obstacle, but as an extension of your imagination. If it flows from the same creative center as the rest of your work, it becomes seamless.
AI and technology can illuminate, extend, enhance, but they cannot breathe human life into creativity. They can amplify our imagination, but never replicate the delicate, unpredictable spark that flickers within the human mind.
Only we can dream, hesitate, and intervene in the unpredictable rhythm of creation. True artistry emerges when the machine's power and the human spirit meet in harmony — when intuition and possibility are woven together, crafting something greater than either could achieve alone.
What was the audience's reaction to this multi-sensory experience? Did it meet your expectations?
The audience response was overwhelming. The play, highly metaphorical in nature, explored the nuances of the human condition in a stark and honest way.
Viewers connected deeply with themes of detachment, discontent, karma, life, and death. Most importantly, it sparked thought, dialogue, and even debate.
The immersive nature of Displacement allowed the audience to experience the themes of empathy, identity, and migration firsthand. Seeing the work resonate so profoundly confirmed that the risk of translating Unmasked into performance was not only worthwhile, but truly transformative.
Book cover of 'Unmasked' |
As an artist who spends her time between London, Dubai, and Mumbai, what are your thoughts on migration, especially now that it has become such a heated point of discussion?
Yes, I move between geographies, but I experience them as layers rather than contradictions.
My personal map of migration is less about crossing borders and more about the hush of footsteps, the echoes of moments and memories left behind.
Living across geographies opens you to the rhythms and textures of life in-between spaces. Some of the art comes from clearly defined 'spaces', but the most meaningful work often arises from the gaps in-between — where people, experiences, and events leave quiet traces.
From these traces, the deepest and most heartfelt poetry and art are born. Transnational artistic practice, where ideas, cultures, and forms move freely across boundaries, has a rich history and a vital place today. It challenges rigid ideas of belonging and opens new spaces for empathy, identity, and expression.
What motivates you to do more and more every day?
I don't create for the audience or the market. The work flows through me relentlessly, always finding a way out from deep within.
I see things differently, and I translate those visions into metaphorical, unconventional stories — in a play's script, the narratives of a poem, the strokes of a painting, or the layers of digital art — letting the same vision take on new life in each form.
Each medium — poetry, theatre, painting, or digital art — lets the vision unfold anew, giving its story and emotions a different shape and resonance.
In my journey, I have faced several setbacks that eventually led to success, yet the creative impulse never relents. It pours out ceaselessly, and I feel compelled to capture it all. With only a couple of decades — perhaps fewer — ahead of me, I want my creativity fully unleashed, leaving behind a legacy of words, paint, and ideas.
