"When I first put that mask on, I can almost sense the audience lean forward. There's a childlike wonder that is kind of released in them. They're given that permission to imagine."
It’s been a quarter century since Jacob Rajan first wore the masks of Gobi and Zina Krishnan, the characters in his play Krishnan’s Dairy.
Jacob Rajan in Krishnan's Dairy. Photo: Wats Behind the Lens
The play is on its final run around the country and in this Voices episode, Kadambari Raghukumar talks to Jacob Rajan about the entire journey.
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Krishnan's Dairy is the play with which it all began for Jacob Rajan and his creative partner Justin Lewis, brought together by the love of masks 25 years ago to set up Indian Ink, their company.
The play is centred around a south Indian couple who run a dairy, and interwoven within that is the story of the Taj Mahal and its maker - Emperor Shah Jahan.
In the play, Jacob goes between characters of Zina and Gobi – basically one mask off and another one on, as the couple navigates challenges of their new life and their new love after an arranged marriage brings them to New Zealand in 1997.
Listen to the full interview in this episode of Voices
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10 plays since Krishnan's Dairy, and 65 international tours later, Jacob's feeling good about laying this show to rest.
"I want to leave it while I still love it. The play sort of set the groundwork and the DNA of the company. So it will always have the legacy of Krishnan's within all our work".
