#PastForward: Tahera S charts her journey as a theatre artiste in Bengaluru from childhood magic to taking over big stages

The stage shines bright with a strong collection of today’s theatre artistes from the city. With a rich history of theatre works, spaces and personalities illuminating the city’s cultural scene for generations, our special carries the theme of Past Forward, honouring this precise history, while spotlighting the future.

Lighting the path ahead is one such future personality whose passion for the performing arts has taken adaptations of popular literary works like The Kite Runner and To Kill A Mockingbird to the city’s most esteemed stages as well as stages across state borders in cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad and more! Theatre director and founder of the Arena Theatre Production — the promising theatre production company from the city — Tahera S, breaks it down for us in this special conversation, discussing transformative shifts she has witnessed in the city’s theatre scene, what brought about her love for the stage all those years ago; and how Bengaluru’s theatre scene promises an exciting trajectory.

“I’ve always been a fan of stories. Be it cinema, plays or any other kind of medium,” Tahera begins. Recalling a sweet memory of watching a staging of Beauty And The Beast, she narrates, “I remember sitting there in the auditorium, the whole school had left to catch the bus and just enjoying that feeling that I just had of watching that unbelievable performance and the magical storytelling on stage come to life. I would have watched on-screen earlier, but witnessing that live, in-person, was so phenomenal for an 11-12-year-old. I think somewhere inside, I felt I should be part of this. I never knew, you know, life would come back here someday.”

A St Joseph’s alumna, Tahera, went on to finish her B Com with the spectacles of theatre still intact in her mind. Doubts, concerns and scepticism from peers and family plagued her initially, but the artiste broke out of this bubble eventually joining the city’s theatre circle with one resolute thought in her head: one day, theatre is going to be so big, it is going to be a career in itself. With a theatre course being introduced into her alma mater, Tahera believes that this notion has stood the test of time. The present witnesses her regularly visiting colleges as a judge in theatre festivals, reassuring people about the gradual but definite evolution of this field, even eventually leading to the assured inclusion of financial remuneration.

With the turn of the decade came the pandemic and that period brought about a signature change within her for the better. From of the hopes of ‘getting somewhere’ as an ‘actor waiting for that opportunity,’ COVID-19 mixed with her passion for theatre, taught her to become adaptable as a director. Reading scripts, conducting workshops and working with actors online became the new normal for her. Even staging plays over Zoom calls with the city’s talents in colourful costumes became a passion project for her during this time.

When things returned to normalcy, the embers fanned out into a bigger fire. “I started some more offline workshops to meet more people, to see how the workshop could bring out the best in people and how I could work with them and how I could bring the story forward. So, that’s why we started in a small room with a laptop, trying to get really excited about that rehearsal reading,” she reminisces.

Having performed in stages even outside the city, like NCPA, Mumbai — a highlight in her career — and multiple shows in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, Tahera also notes that popular shows from other cities like Mumbai are coming to Bengaluru, drawing in crowds to fill seats at unprecedented numbers.

So, if the rising director were to adapt an innate Bengaluru story, what would it be? “I think, the mix of people that we have here would be something interesting to hear and share. Because, I’m very curious and I listen to people’s stories and where they came from and how they’ve made it here. And for any place to be great, the people really matter. Different stories of Bengaluru’s people and their experiences here, that’d be a story I’d love to work on,” Tahera notes. Offering a peek into her future works with another run of The Kite Runner coming up in February 2026, Tahera promises a new project, with more details to be revealed soon.