Guards at the Taj

Caitie Murphy - Stage Manager

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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:

Frankston Arts Centre

Tuesday 3rd September, 7:30pm

( + Q&A with director, captioned)

Bunjil Place (Narre Warren)

Wednesday 4th September, 7:30pm

Chatswood Concourse

Friday 6th September, 7:30pm

Saturday 7th September, 2:30pm

Saturday 7th September, 7:30pm

The Art House Wyong

Tuesday 10th September, 8pm