A Passage to India

Shared Experience presents A Passage to India, the London-based company’s take on novelist E.M. Forster’s masterful evocation of the Indian and British states of mind during the waning days of the Raj. The premise seems harmless enough: three recent English arrivals, eager to befriend Indians, stumble upon the equally enthusiastic Dr. Aziz. Despite the inevitable raised eyebrows and overt racism, he soon becomes their valued companion and guide. It all goes terribly wrong during a trip to the Marabar caves. Accusations of rape, later recanted, incite virulent reactions, forever dashing the illusion of friendship and foreshadowing the fierce political conflict soon to come.

Adapted by Martin Sherman (Tony nominee for Bent) and directed by Nancy Meckler, A Passage to India thrusts Forster’s still-potent themes of suspicion, racial hatred, snobbery, and repressed sexuality into stark relief.