Lillete Dubey’s ‘Autobiography’ opens WOPA Winter fest with reflection on memory, power and truth

Lillete Dubey’s direction keeps the stage uncluttered, using light and pauses rather than elaborate sets to move between timelines. (Source: Instagram)

For the opening night of the World of Performing Arts (WOPA) Winter Festival, theatre in Pune took a quieter, more inward turn. Under the open January sky at Yerawada’s Creativity Amphitheatre on January 11, “Autobiography”, directed by Lillete Dubey, unfolded not as a dramatic spectacle but as a slow, unsettling look at memory and truth. The English adaptation of Mahesh Elkunchwar’s Marathi play Atmakatha follows Anantrao Rajadhyaksha, a celebrated writer and Padma Bhushan awardee, played by Denzil Smith.

As he begins dictating his life story to Pradnya, a young PhD student portrayed by Sarah Hashmi, the authority or credibility of his voice is steadily challenged. What appears to be a straightforward autobiography soon turns into a contested space, where the past refuses to stay neatly written. Figures from Anantrao’s life step into the narrative one by one. His former wife Uttara, played by Lillete Dubey, and her sister Vasanti, played by Suchitra Pillai, bring with them the memories that clash with his version of events.

Through these interruptions, the play suggests that personal histories are rarely owned by one person alone, and that silence can be as damaging as outright lies.

Dubey’s direction keeps the stage uncluttered, using light and pauses rather than elaborate sets to move between timelines. The English dialogue carries a faint Marathi rhythm, a choice that seemed to sit comfortably with Pune audiences familiar with Elkunchwar’s writing. Speaking about the play, Dubey reflects on how its concerns continue to feel close to everyday life. She pointed to family-tensions, unequal relationships and the ways people reshape their pasts to suit the present, issues that remain recognisable even decades after the play had been firstly written.

The opening night drew a full audience, suggesting a continued interest in theatre that asks questions rather than offering easy answers. As the first production of this year’s WOPA Winter Festival, Autobiography set a thoughtful tone for further performance. Last year’s edition of the WOPA Winter Festival unfolded as a multi-month theatre season, with one major production staged each month from December through March. Highlights included Danish Husain’s Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hun, Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana, the Hindi-Punjabi comedy Baaghi Albele, and the musical satire The Greatest Show on Earth, all presented at Creaticity Amphitheatre. Details about this year’s following performances are yet to be released.