By: Brenda Harwood

New Zealand’s Indian Ink Theatre Company returns to Dunedin, bringing its acclaimed show Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream to the Regent Theatre on September 5.
Written by Indian Ink founders Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis, and directed by Lewis, the production combines theatre, comedy, puppetry and music.

It showcases Rajan’s unique solo performance talents, channelling seven characters, while weaving a story of the afterlife with a dash of Bollywood into the real-life mystery of India’s vanishing vultures.

Rajan will be accompanied on stage by a crafted life-size vulture, created and puppeteered by Jon Coddington.

Speaking by phone to The Star, Rajan said the show was written prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and planned performances in the South Island had been disrupted by lockdowns in 2020.

“So, we are doing one-off shows in Nelson and Dunedin to ensure that audiences there get the chance to experience our story,” Rajan said.

Indian Ink was committed to the live theatre experience, so did not tend to film or stream its shows, which meant that Dunedin people would have one chance to see Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream.

“The masks and the puppetry really work best in a live context, so we hope people will come out to the theatre and enjoy it with us.”

The idea for the show came to himself and Lewis during a visit to the Indian city of Mumbai in 2019, Rajan said.

The pair were captivated by the city, its people and its secrets — in particular, the mystery of India’s vanishing vultures, one of the fastest mass extinctions of all time.

“So, we found a way of folding this into our story of Kutisar, whose passage from this world to the next depends on the guidance of a vulture.”

A rebellious young woman from Mumbai’s enigmatic Parsi community — a people whose faith is entwined with the vulture — holds the key that may yet deliver him.

“As always, we use the concept of the ‘serious laugh’ in the show, which is to get people chuckling and then slip in something serious,” Rajan said.

While Rajan acted out the show’s various characters solo, he would be accompanied on stage by Coddington and the “incredible” vulture puppet.

“The vulture is absolutely gorgeous, Jon has outdone himself this time.

“It is an absolute scene stealer throughout the show — it can be very hard to compete with.”

Given Indian Ink regularly tours its shows overseas as well as around New Zealand, the Auckland theatre company creates minimalist productions, enhanced with projection and “incredible” sound design.

“Everything we need for Paradise … fits into seven suitcases, so it’s relatively easy for us to take it anywhere,” Rajan said.

“The design of the show means that the stage still feels very full though — I’m really looking forward to having the large space of the Regent stage to play on.”