Shyama Iyer
writer - composer - choreographer
Full Length Works
Book/Music/Lyrics by Shyama Iyer
A Game of Dice reimagines the Mahabharata's pivotal gambling match as a modern musical about power, tradition and human dignity. When Yudhishthira's addiction leads him to wager everything—including his wife Draupadi—in a fateful game against his cousins, both families must confront how their obsession with winning has cost them their humanity.
2W | 8M
Book/Music/Lyrics by Shyama Iyer
In a cramped New York City apartment, Tamil-American lawyer Kanika Rajan and her husband Karthik, an actor from Chennai, India, watch their marriage quietly unravel when a golden-haired country singer moves in next door. As Karthik delights in sharing "Southern-ness" with the neighbor, Kanika escapes by reading the 2nd century Tamil story. As she reads, an old lover comes to life and an ancient tragedy resurfaces. Can Kanika find the fate that's meant for her?
2W | 2M
Music/Lyrics by Shyama Iyer
This song cycle combines research into ancient Indian aesthetics (Bhava-Rasa Theory) and musical modes (Carnatic Ragas) with American musical theater, creating a fun interactive evening in which audience members are given beads that indicate what they feel as each song commences.
4 performers
Written/Choreographed by Shyama Iyer
Journeys is a dance-play about finding home. Based off of diary entries made by Shyama's mother in 1997, the choreography tells the story of the various emotions that her mother faced as she journeyed from India to the United States.
Solo Dancer
Written/Choreographed by Shyama Iyer
A Kurathi (Tamil tribal fortune-teller) helps a heartbroken woman by performing stories of female characters from classical Indian plays. With each telling, she challenges the heroine to break free from stereotypical roles and choose her own path forward.
Solo dancer