Black Box Okhla: Stage-setting gets a whole new dimension

The exciting synergy of light, sound, stage and performance makes The Shakuntala Project an absorbing watch

It’s eight in the evening. The generators in the factory next door are still on. Google Maps tells me I’ve reached my destination, but there’s nothing apart from a tall industrial building with details of its effluent treatment plant at the entrance. A sign forbids smoking and spitting, and I wonder if this is where The Shakuntala Project, a modern retelling of Kalidasa’s Shakuntala is going to be staged. Indeed, even though the driveway is abuzz with people, from outside, Black Box Okhla seems like an unlikely venue for a theatrical performance. “This is all part of the plan,” says