Parwana Theatre brings The End to Bengaluru for its silver jubilee tour

As The End marks its 25th performance in just two years, Parwana Theatre is taking the production back on the road with a special silver jubilee tour. The Mumbai-based performing arts collective arrives at Ranga Shankara in Bengaluru on August 1 before travelling to Pune and Delhi, bringing with it a play that has steadily built a following across five cities. Co-written by Nikhita Singh, Mitali Kalagi and Sambita De, The End unfolds through the lives of three couples, each standing at a turning point in their relationship.

"The End came to me at a very particular point in my life when I found myself reflecting on my own romantic relationships, as well as those I had witnessed among friends and within my family. It also made me think about how living in a patriarchal society shapes, and often distorts, our idea of who we need to be to feel worthy of love. The End is an original anthology comprising three short plays written by three women playwrights, one of whom is me. I chose to direct the production because I was drawn to the idea of bringing three distinct voices and stories together on one stage. At its heart, the play asks why women leave when they do, what finally brings them to that point and what all of us, regardless of gender, are willing to do in the name of love. It isn't a conventional romantic story with a simple, happy ending. Instead, it explores difficult emotions and the conversations we often avoid," Nikhita Singh shares.

Their stories intersect through a question that quietly lingers beneath every conversation: what happens when the words left unsaid are finally spoken? The answers emerge through moments of affection, conflict, vulnerability and change, offering an intimate portrait of love in its many forms.

"The three couples are at very different stages of their lives and relationships. The first is a young college couple experiencing their first serious romance. The second, in their late twenties or early thirties, are navigating the challenges of living together for the first time. The third have been married for many years, but their relationship is no longer in a good place. Each couple faces its own set of conflicts. As we developed the play, an unexpected thread emerged: the idea of memory. It explores how we remember relationships and how happier moments from the past can keep us holding on, even when a relationship is no longer healthy or fulfilling," the playwright tells us.

Over the past two years, the ensemble has continued to shape the production's visual identity by blending movement, music, poetry and inventive stage design into the storytelling. These elements do not merely accompany the narrative but become part of its emotional vocabulary, adding texture to the journeys of the characters while connecting the three narratives into a cohesive whole.

"Movement, music and memory come together in two ways. Structurally, they help connect three stories, six characters and four actors, creating a distinct visual language that binds the production together. They also become an integral part of the storytelling, carrying emotion and meaning even during scene transitions. A poem recited by one character may belong to a single story, yet its themes resonate across the play, reflecting the experiences of all three couples," the director tells us.

The End returns to audiences with the same curiosity that lies at the heart of the play itself, inviting viewers to consider how relationships are often transformed not by grand declarations but by the quiet courage to finally give voice to what has long remained unspoken.

"Design-wise, the production is deliberately minimal, allowing the human body to become an expressive storytelling tool. Every set and costume change is carried out by the actors on stage, making the transitions part of the performance itself. Once the actors enter at the beginning of the 90-minute play, they remain on stage until the very end, with every transformation unfolding in full view of the audience," she concludes.

₹499 onwards. August 1, 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm. At Ranga Shankara, JP Nagar.

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