A bilingual evening of poetry, music and storytelling puts women’s voices centre stage.
- O Sakhi brings epic women’s voices into a fresh Dubai performance.
- Katha Sutra blends Hindi poetry, storytelling and live music together.
- Gargi, Sita, Kaikeyi, Draupadi and Mirabai take the centre stage.
- A 100-minute bilingual performance unfolds at Live@Play in Al Quoz.
Some Dubai evenings call for more than dinner, drinks or another big-screen spectacle. In Al Quoz, where warehouse spaces have become unlikely homes for theatre, spoken word and live performance, intimate cultural experiences have their own appeal. O Sakhi Dubai arrives in that spirit on September 19, inviting audiences into the inner worlds of women from India’s epics. Listen closely.
A familiar story can feel completely different when the spotlight shifts. Katha Sutra’s O Sakhi: Her Voice in Verse and Song places Gargi, Sita, Kaikeyi, Draupadi and Mirabai at the centre, exploring their questions, contradictions, longing and agency through an original bilingual production. These aren’t distant names on a page. Their voices become the evening’s focus.
A Saturday night in Al Quoz can move from coffee with friends to a performance before anyone notices the time. At Live@Play, Katha Sutra brings together spoken storytelling, Hindi poetry and live music across approximately 100 minutes, creating something that sits somewhere between theatre, a poetry gathering and a musical evening. Expect a different rhythm.
A classically trained voice can change the atmosphere of a room within seconds. Priyanka Raman, whose musical training spans Carnatic and Hindustani traditions, brings classical, folk, bhakti and contemporary influences into the performance, while poet and performer Surabhi Joshi has written the Hindi poetry. Their work meets Kamala Iyer’s storytelling as Sutradhar. Three women shape one conversation.
For Dubai’s Indian community, the appeal also lies in recognition without repetition. These are stories many people may have encountered through childhood readings, family conversations, television or devotional traditions, yet O Sakhi approaches them through the perspectives often left in the background. That shift feels personal.
There’s also something distinctly Dubai about the format. The city’s independent cultural spaces increasingly make room for intimate performances where audiences can sit closer to the work, rather than simply watch from a distance. Live@Play in Al Quoz suits that mood, giving this new collective a home for its first public performance. Stay curious.
Behind the production are three Dubai-based women whose professional worlds span banking, marketing and the energy sector, alongside creative practices in storytelling, music and poetry. Katha Sutra takes its name from the idea of connecting stories and traditions across time, which is exactly what the evening sets out to do. Old stories, newly heard.
For anyone planning a more thoughtful Saturday night, September 19 offers a compelling reason to head towards Al Quoz. O Sakhi isn’t a conventional concert, lecture or theatrical retelling. It is an intimate meeting of language, music and memory, built around voices that deserve more room. Bring your curiosity and let the stories speak!
Tickets are available via Platinum list: dubai.platinumlist.net/event-tickets/
