Mrs. Krishnan's Party
Celebrating India's Onam Festival Via New Zealand
By: Victor Cordell - Mar 21, 2025
For those who like comedy clubs, impromptu, skits and such, a laugh-a-minute treat is in store at Marin Theatre. New Zealand’s Indian Ink Theatre is touring the U.S. in a special production of Mrs. Krishnan’s Party. The immersive “party” nominally celebrates Onam, a Hindu harvest and cultural festival important to the southern Indian state of Kerala, with the extra lagnappe for party goers being a serving of spicy dal lentils with basmati rice at the end of the show.
The two-hander is performed by actors with distinguished comedic and acting skills. Kalyani Nagarajan as the widow Mrs. Krishnan storms around the stage with purpose, howling rapid-fire with a typical British-trained Indian accent. Extreme facial expressions accentuate her mugging particularly by retracting her lips to better reveal her toothy grin. Justin Rogers is James, her boarder and factotum, equally adept at humoring and stirring up the audience through direct engagement and traditional performance.
Action takes place in the back room of Mrs. Krishnan’s convenience store in New Zealand. But this theatrical experience does not occur with performers on stage and the audience in the auditorium. Rather, to allow the actors to interact at close quarters with spectators, all are on the extended stage, to include the wings and back stage.
The theatrical conceit is that, to her great surprise, 100 partiers have showed up for Onam, and to feed them, Mrs. Krishnan will have to prepare and cook large cauldrons of dal and rice, which she will do with help on stage as the comedy proceeds. Of course, this format is rife with prospects for calamity, including unpredictable interactions with patrons and complications with preparing the food. This evening survived without a perceivable hitch, unless spilling a large bag of uncooked rice was not intentional.
During the show, several audience members are enlisted to participate in the action. While I thought I was perfectly ensconced to avoid selection, I was chosen as well as Karin, my wife and editor. I was tasked with stirring the dal for some time as she integrated onions and spices. When a Carpenters’ tune arose from the sound system, we even improvised a bit of a slow dance together while we each continued to stir with one hand!
The experience lasts approximately 80 minutes. In addition to the generally fixed script, audience response often adds to the humor. Props and activities add to the energy with colorful scarfs dispensed for attendees to wear and balloons distributed to create a festive feel. The stage is decorated with party lights and streamers. Nagarajan also performs an appealing Indian dance on an audience table with characteristic beautiful finger movement.
While the laughs keep coming, sometimes they’re driven by the pratfalls and general looks and sounds of the performers. The accents of the actors (Rogers has a New Zealand accent), and sound interference sometimes makes it difficult to understand specifically what they are saying.
Another point worth mentioning is that if you’re looking for a traditional theater experience with a production that is consistent from one night to the next and that has appreciable subtext, this is not it. The story of Onam concerning life and rebirth is verbalized as well as some commentary supporting the notion of people of all religions coming together, but the messages are pretty superficial.
However, if you want a fun diversion with some unusual wrinkles, this is one to enjoy.
Mrs. Krishnan’s Party is presented by Marin Theatre, produced by Indian Ink Theatre Company, and plays at Marin Theatre, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley, CA through March 30, 2025.