The UC San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance presents Backwaters by Ankita Raturi ‘23 Directed by Juliana Kleist-Méndez ‘21 as part of the 2021 Wagner New Play Festival

Kate and Hailey fell in love hard and got married fast, but do they really know each other as well as they think? On their honeymoon, floating along the serene and beautiful backwaters of Kerala on the southwestern coast of India, the newlyweds are eaten alive by both mosquitoes and the racial legacies that shape their lives. Backwaters asks how well we truly know those closest to us, and if love can save us from the toxic, even lethal, cultural baggage we carry. 

This show is part of the Wagner New Play Festival, an annual festival of new works by MFA playwrights, in collaboration with MFA/PhD directors, actors, designers, stage managers, and dramaturgs. This year, for the first time, the WNPF will be presented virtually. The festival will include four audio plays, including this piece, and one animated work.

This audio play will be available to stream beginning June 9 @ 6:00am. On that date, you, the audience, are free to stream it on this webpage and on iTunes. Links to which are available here https://theatre.ucsd.edu/season/wagner-new-play-festival/backwaters.html

Or at https://audioboom.com/channels/5046307

Or at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uc-san-diego-theatre-and-dance-presents/id1566930944

The cast features Lois Shih (Hailey), Natalia Quintero-Riestra (Kate), Sashank Kanchustambam (Mukul)

The creative team includes Ankita Raturi (Playwright), Juliana Kleist-Mendez (Director), Pandit Kartik Seshadri (Composer), Andrew Lynch (Sound Designer), Mallika Seshadri (Flautist), Michelle Huynh (Dramaturg), Laylena Zipkin (Assistant Director), Mia Vandeloo (Assistant Dramaturg), Gillian Lelchuk (Production Stage Manager), Jonathan Fong (First Assistant Stage Manager), Sophia Donner (Second Assistant Stage Manager), Jaz Johnson (Script Production Assistant)