ReunionBayuni Balagopal says that it is being staged by the First Drop Theater on 20 September, it is about disability, friendship and identity. Drama, says disability, wants to open interactions around disabilities related disciplines such as beliefs, decisions, tokenism, policy vs. practice, gender interaction, invisible disability, and more.
“We wanted to talk about these aspects, but there is also a drama that attachs people,” the first drop-founder Bayuni explains the co-founder of the first drop, which produced the play. “Artists include both visible and invisible disabled individuals, drawing from raw, real and depth living experiences.”
Idea for Reunion First emerged during the Covid-19 epidemic, says Bejoy, when many performance infections in online platforms. “We thought that since we were all doing it online, we can also reach the community of people with disabilities to provide training in the playback theater: a improvised format of theater where you listen to the audience stories and improve them.”
In response, people from different parts of the country expressed interest, and were trained online, they say. This experience also ignored many of his perceptions about disabilities, co-founder of first drop, Bayuni and Radhika Jain. The idea of ​​this play emerged from these interactions. “His personal, living experiences were discussed, and those aspects were created in a fictional story.”
In the opinion of Bayuni, a play based on the living experiences of people with disabilities can help the audience appreciate the challenges that they face daily and become more sensitive and aware of them.
“We are targeting them to think of these living experiences,” they say, pointing out that it was challenging to find a display -friendly display space. The show, which is happening at the Bangalore International Center (BIC), is not only wheelchair-accessible, but also the Indian sign language interpretation and live audio details, he said.
Reunion Four childhood friends along with various disabled walks around those who re -join after many years. He says, “They were very close and are meeting in one of their friend’s ancestral homes after a while, where they have spent a lot of childhood,” they say.
Through their interactions, jokes, laughter and arguments, the play faces various challenges that they encountered, and due to their disability, and how different reactions and approaches from each of them have shaped – indicate the complexities of disability and sympathy that help cross through these complex layers.
This play will be followed by a panel discussion, which will feature actively working individuals in this space, including Preity Lobo, Arun Mohan, Madhumita V and Rakesh Paladugula. “They will raise some things that came into the play and share their thoughts what should be done.
“This is a great experience for the audience. It looked so real when the characters talked about it, and here experts are also saying what we can do as colleagues and how many groundwork we need to cover.”
The Reunion will be held at Bangalore International Center (BIC), Indira Nagar at 5:30 pm on September 20. Tickets are available https://shorturl.at/UCVP6Through UPI: 9886185008@PTSBI, or at the venue.
Published – September 16, 2025 02:37 pm IST
