The play is a riveting, funny and heartwarming story of a hill farmer and his family set against the backdrop of the civil unrest of the late 1970s.

Three narrators take you on an exotic journey through the mountains and plains of Central America as they tell us the story of a simple peasant with a big family, a big heart and a small piece of land. Although set in a country and time far away, the events bear a remarkable resemblance to events in India today – the dynastic thirst for power, the blatant genocide, the license raj, the people’s movement to protest injustice, and the rise of an unlikely hero. Filled with Spanish ballads, election spoofs, comical Americans, a magical set design, and a whole lot more, the play is both a quick peek into history as well as a humorous look in the mirror.

The play first opened in September 2013, at Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai.

Credits:

Written by Peter Gould and Stephen Stearns

Directed by Q

Performed by Meher Acharia-Dar, Pramod Pathak, Suhaas Ahuja.

Light Design: Arghya Lahiri

Production Design: Q & Dhanendra Kawade

Creative Producer: Toral Shah

Executive Producer: Vivek Rao

Production Team: Hardik Shah, Rachit Khetan, Srishti Ray

Duration of the play: 80 minutes

Suitable for ages 12+

Language: English with Hindi & Spanish

About the Playwrights

Peter Gould and Stephen Stearns have been partners for more than twenty years, and during that time they have performed nearly three thousand shows from coast to coast. They are physical comedi ans comedians with elastic muscles and big voices, wild faces, and original minds.

"A Peasant of El Salvador", their renowned play, was honored with the 1985 Denver Global Justice and Peace Award and the 1996 Queens College Chaney, Goodman, Schwerner Humanitarian Award for "making the world a better place to be." Gould & Stearns have toured the play in 42 states and supported productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in London at the National Theatre, British Columbia and South Africa. 

About the Director

Quasar is a theatre-holic and lover of all things theatrical. Since 1999, he has directed and produced over 25 plays with QTP; including Every Brilliant Thing, A Peasant of El Salvador, Project S.T.R.I.P., So Many Socks, Minorities and many others about contemporary social concerns. Internationally he has worked on Tim Supple’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the aerial drama Mind Walking. He is a founding member of Thespo - a youth theatre movement. And at present, he is also serving on the festival committee of Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai International LitFest. He also works as a lighting designer, stage manager, leads workshops and is a passionate crusader for the survival of theatre in the public consciousness.

About the Performers

Pramod Pathak is an Actor, Writer and Director. With more than 27 years of experience in theatre, he has acted in a score of plays directed by Satyadev Dubey, Sunil Shanbag, Ramu Ramanathan, among others. He has acted in the internationally acclaimed production ‘Merchants of Bollywood’ which has travelled across Europe, UK, & Australia with more than 600 shows to its credit. He has written and directed ‘Oka Boka Tiloka’ and Dolkar Doma aur Yeti, and most recently ‘Mahar Thakuron Ka Gaon’.

He is well known for his work in films like Raees, Raazi, Haseena, City lights and Gangs of Wassepur, among others. His OTT work includes Mirzapur, Maharani, Raktanchal, and many more. He has also directed a children’s film Pinti Ka Sabun.

A film, television, theatre & voice actor, Meher Acharia Dar is noted for her work in the entertainment industry for more than three decades. 

On the big screen her prominent Hindi films include Tu Hai Mera Sunday, Ek Villain, Luv Ka The End, and Tum Milo Toh Sahi among others. Her popular TV/OTT work includes Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Dil Mill Gaye, Jab Love Hua, Rocket Boys, & Feels Like Ishq, to name a few.

She has worked with several eminent Indian and British theatre directors in notable productions such as: Shikhandi, A Peasant of El Salvador, As Bees in Honey Drown, Salaam Noni Aapa, The Mirror Crack’d & Djinns of Eidgah amongst many more.

She also lends her voice to audiobooks, audio shows & podcasts on Audible, Spotify and other audio portals.

Suhaas Ahuja is an actor, musician and writer-director. Since his mainstream acting debut in "Talaash" (2012), he has worked steadily in theatre, films, TV and web series. Some of his notable productions include "Gates To India Song", "A Peasant Of El Salvador" and "The Mirror Crack'd". He has worked in films like "Katti Batti" and "Tu Hai Mera Sunday"; and TV/OTT shows "POW Bandi Yuddh Ke", "Out Of Love" and "The Married Woman". He has also been the frontman and songwriter for The Suhaas Ahuja Band, founded in 2017. In 2019 with their single "Phantom In The Fog", the band was one of the finalists at Nexa Music, a competition curated by AR Rahman and Clinton Cerejo.

About QTP

QTP is a theatre & arts management company that specialises in unique and engaging experiences for live audiences. For the last 24 years the company has been producing its own work as well as touring remarkable international plays from the US, UK, China, and Canada. Their productions include the critically acclaimed So Many Socks, the laugh riot The God of Carnage, the long running Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace and path breaking White Rabbit Red Rabbit. 

They also produce the Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai International Literary Festival, which takes place each November; and the youth theatre movement Thespo which is now in its 25th year.

The various India tours that they have managed include Foreign Body (UK, 2018), Brotherhood (Canada, 2017), Chi Udaka (Australia, 2016), HeLa (UK, 2014), Mind Walking (UK, 2011) and To The Death of My Own Family (USA, 2007). They were also instrumental in building international collaborations like Nirbhaya (2013), Gates to India Song (2013), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2006-9).

To know more about their work: qtp.in