Jacob Rajan in Krishnan's DairyKrishnan's Dairy

  • PREMIÈRED AUGUST 1999 AT EDINBURGH FESTIVAL at THE TRAVERSE THEATRE
  • PRESENTED BY INDIAN INK THEATRE COMPANY (NZ) IN ASSOCIATION WITH GUY MASTERSON PRODUCTIONS
  • written & performed by jacob rajan
  • directed by justin lewis
  • WINNER: The Scotsman fringe first - edinburgh festival 1999
  • NZ Production Of The Year 1997 - Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards
  • NOMINATED: THE STAGE BEST ACTOR 1999

    Gobi and Zina Krishnan have travelled from India to set up a corner shop in the farthest corner of the world - New Zealand - and they keep their dreams stacked on the shelves of their struggling business: Krishnan's Dairy. The Taj Mahal, love, obsession, magic, live music, high comedy and profound tragedy in an enchanting story of two ordinary people and a legendary love.

Reviews:

"Using little more than a series of masks and some deft physical caricature,Rajan and director Justin Lewis have created a work of some charm that amuses as much as it touches." (The Times 12/08/99)

"Sweet, sentimental and funny, this is a perfect show for those seeking a gentle laugh, a few songs and a prick of sadness." (The List 12/08/99)

"Jacob Rajan is extraordinary. We were in the palm of his hand for every second of one of the tenderest, most life affirming shows on the Fringe." SCOTSMAN FRINGE FIRST WINNER (The Scotsman 14/08/99)

"Krishnan's Dairy is cute, sentimental, large-spirited, beautifully performed, utterly touching." (Financial Times, 17/08/99)

"It's the skill of the writing which takes you up with it and then lets you down, delicately into an emotional and heart-wrenching ending. Superb stuff." (Edinburgh Evening News 20/08/99)

NEW ZEALAND REVIEWS

"This minor masterpiece has that rare quality, charm, depth, delicacy and a devastating sting in the tail. It is such riveting theatre that you would have to have a heart of reinforced concrete not to be captivated by it. If there were a Race Relations Councillor's Award for huge leaps forward in cross-cultural understanding, KRISHNAN'S DAIRY would win hands down. Rajan is one of those rare actors in whose performance no trace of strain can be detected. He is a stage natural, economical in movement, fluid in gesture, never in your face but unforgettably in your presence. You leave the theatre somewhat chastened, but uplifted, too, by the luminous hope embodied in KRISHNAN'S DAIRY." (NZ Listener)

"Immensely moving and I am sure I was not the only member of the audience brought to tears." (Dominion)

"This is what good theatre is all about" (Capital Times, Wellington)

"A wonderfully heart warming experience. KRISHNAN'S DAIRY is an absolute darling of a work" (Auckland What's Happening)

"The show is sad, sweet, funny and beautiful." (Salient, Wellington)

"KRISHNAN'S DAIRY is a tapestry of storytelling; it blends the past and the present with the sensual textures of Indian dance and song." (Guano, Wellington)