Ma-Yi Theatre Company Presents: Jesus in India

If you are familiar with Scripture, the Bible tells us the story of Jesus, but at few and very specific timelines.

The Good Book shows through the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John the timeline of Jesus’ life, but it misses a huge chunk of his stay on Earth.

Luke and Matthew, for instance, records the nativity of Christ (Luke records events before his birth, and Matthew after), including the family’s escape to Egypt after Christ’s birth and his eventual return, “as Jesus is found in the temple,” while Mark and John take into account his adulthood, which begins with his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist (who is said to be six months older than Christ).

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As scholars break this information down, it is estimated that Jesus was 12 years old when he is found at the temple, and he returns as a 30 year old man when John baptizes him in the river.

So what happened in the 18 years in between?

There are a lot of theories. Some say that it is possible he could have been travelling at some point between 12 and 30, including taking a trip to India to meet Siddhārtha Gautama. (Siddhārtha eventually becomes the enlightened one, also known as the Buddha.)

There are a lot of theories. (BBC even has a documentary in regards to the matter.) And one can see how this is a very interesting topic to discuss.

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But one man has a very interesting take on the whole thing, and he tells his story through the art of theatre.

Playwright Lloyd Suh posed the question, and appears to have thought long and hard about what could have happened. And in the process, we are promised a very “Fun” version of the story, and one worth looking into.

Suh, of course, has a very impressive resume. Author of plays including American Hwangap, Great Wall Story, Jesus in India, Happy End of the World, The Children of Vonderly, and Masha No Home, Suh’s projects have been produced by the Ma-Yi Theater Company, The Play Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Magic Theatre (San Francisco), East West Players (Los Angeles), and Tanghalang Pilipino at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila, among others.

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The play “Jesus in India” is and has been showing at The Theater at St. Clement’s, and will be going on until March 10, 2013. 

• The plot: Teenaged and wayward, a little confused and a little punk rock, Jesus of Nazareth journeys to the east with his friend, Abigail of Galilee, on the back of a camel. They cross the Hindu Kush to the Indo-Mathura, a region of spiritual innovation, new age music and really good weed. A contemporary parable that looks at the world’s most famous rebel before he found his cause.

Every Tuesday through Sunday, the show is scheduled as follows:

Wednesday-Saturday @ 8:00pm
Tuesday @ 7:00pm
Sunday @ 3:00pm

Directed by Daniella Topol (who just ran Off-Broadway’s How the World Began for The Women’s Project), the show’s cast features Justin Blanchard, Neimah Djourabchi, Vedant Gokhale, Meera Rohit Kumbhani, and Molly Ward.

And, make sure to check out the short series of “Conversations with Jesus” – a short comedy with witty bobbleheads. (See Episode 1 below.)

Conversations With Jesus – Episode 1 from Ma-Yi Theater Company on Vimeo.

(Special thanks to our buddy Giselle Garcia of the Ma-Yi Theatre Company and Lark Play Development Center.)