Riverside's National Theatre of Parramatta presents:
Guards at the Taj
After a successful season in 2022, I'll be joining the company with Riverside's National Theatre of Parramatta in 2024 to remount and tour Guards at the Taj by Rajiv Joseph.
What happens to a life-long friendship when two ordinary men
Written by Rajiv Joseph, presented by Riverside's National Theatre of Parramatta
An award-winning playwright; a critically acclaimed directorial debut. Guards at the Taj centres around the friendship of two imperial guards and their conflicting loyalties when ordered to perform a horrendous task. This intelligent new work questions the cost of beauty, power and injustice, and autocracy and resistance.
At the grand opening of the Taj Mahal, the most beautiful building in the world, the Emperor decrees that nothing more beautiful shall ever be built again. To ensure this, he orders two imperial guards to perform a horrendous task.
The guards are best friends. Humayun is a loyal civil servant with complete trust in the authorities, while Babur is a dreamer, and deeply distressed by the order that has been bestowed upon them. He plans a revenge that will put these two best friends at odds.
Featuring a heartbreakingly funny friendship put to the ultimate test and existential banter reminiscent of Beckett and Stoppard, Guards at the Taj mixes witty black comedy with the bloodiest deeds of Greek tragedy.
CITY HUB
"...touching, funny and potent.... a captivating exploration of how far friendship can be pushed and the tension between duty and humanity."
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
"It’s not just that directorial debuts don’t come any stronger than this, few productions of any sort do."
ARTSHUB
"Sondhi and Caplash imbue their odd couple-esque characters with the perfect amount of individual likeability and collective chemistry, meaning that they can dominate the stage together and on their own."
Learn More
This iteration of Guards at the Taj was first staged at Riverside's National Theatre of Parramatta in 2022 to critical acclaim and will tour in September and October of 2024. Full list of dates and cities for the upcoming tour can be found below, with links to purchase tickets from each venue.
Locations, Dates & Times:
Tuesday 3rd September, 7:30pm
( + Q&A with director, captioned)
Wednesday 4th September, 7:30pm
Friday 6th September, 7:30pm
Saturday 7th September, 2:30pm
Saturday 7th September, 7:30pm
Tuesday 10th September, 8pm
National Theatre of Parramatta
Thursday 12th September, 7:45pm
Friday 13th September, 7:45pm
Saturday 14th September, 2:30pm
Saturday 14th September, 7:45pm
Tuesday 17th September, 7:30pm
Wednesday 18th September, 7:30pm
Thursday 19th September, 6:30pm
( + Q&A with director)
Friday 20th September, 7:30pm
Saturday 21st September, 1:30pm
(audio described & captioned, with tactile tour)
Saturday 21st September, 7:30pm
Friday 27th September, 8pm
Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre
Saturday 28th September, 8pm
Friday 4th October, 7:30pm
Saturday 5th October, 2pm
Saturday 5th October, 7:30pm
Friday 11th October, 7:30pm
Instagram: @ntofp
Facebook: Riverside's National Theatre of Parramatta
Credits
Director
Bali Padda
Set & Costume Designer
James Browne
Composer & Sound Designer
Me-Lee Hay
Lighting Designer
Kate Baldwin
Stage Manager
Caitie Murphy
Cast
Akkshey Caplash & Idam Sondhi
Photo Gallery
Caitie Murphy - Stage Manager