Canadian Premiere of Seven Steps Around the Fire

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Award-winning Indo-Canadian composer Vikas Kohli of FatLabs is happy to announce composing music for the Canadian Premiere of Mahesh Dattani’s controversial play “Seven Steps Around the Fire”.

Originally, adapted for radio via a BBC commission, “Seven Steps Around the Fire” is a murder mystery story about a hijra (eunuch) who secretly marries and has to bear dire consequences.  The roles of police, politicians and society are questioned.  Sawitri Theatre Group will be presenting the full length play in two acts at Meadowvale Theatre in Mississauga.

“In composing the music for Seven Steps Around the Fire, I researched and incorporated ideas from Sanskrit mantras about Ardhanarishvara,” explains composer Vikas Kohli of FatLabs, who further adds “Ardhanarishvara is an androgynous form of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati, which symbolizes the oneness or non-duality of the universe and it’s important the music reflects deeper meanings in the script.”

Mahesh Dattani, a Sahitya Academy Award winning playwright from India is also a film director.  His works have been studied widely in academia and he is known for writing and directing the movie Morning Raaga starring legendary Bollywood actor Shabana Azmi.  Mr. Dattani and Mr. Kohli are confirmed to attend the Canadian Premiere opening night of “Seven Steps Around the Fire”.

Hijras, or eunuchs, have more than 4000 years recorded history in the Indian subcontinent, as suggested by the Kama Sutra period.  Their community is often deprived of several rights under Indian civil law because the law recognizes only two sexes.  In recent times, advocates have been lobbying for official recognition of the hijra as a kind of “third sex” or “third gender,” as neither man nor woman.   

• What: Seven Steps Around The Fire
• Where:
• Meadowvale Theatre
  6315 Montevideo Rd  Mississauga, ON MAP 
• When:
• 8pm Thurs Sept 26, 2013 (Canadian Premiere)
• 8pm Fri Sept 27, 2013
• 2pm Sat Sept 28, 2013 (Matinee)
• 8pm Sat Sept 28, 2013
• How: Purchase tickets by clicking here
• Value: $15-$30 (early bird discounts & group discounts available)    
• Who:
• Playwright: Mahesh Dattani
• Director: Christina Collins
• Producer: Nitin Sawant
• Set & Lighting: Joe Pagnan
• Music: Vikas Kohli
• Costumes: Shruti Shah
• Stage Manager: Brooklyn Doran

Starring: Farah Bhanji, Sid Sawant, Amit Mohan, Aryan Ahuja, Naimesh Nanavaty, Shafik Kamani, Andrew Rave, Ivana Bitterrova, Jasmine Sawant