News and Reviews

CityArts: In 'I and You' a Slice of Teenage Life

"Pratidhwani and Schmeater’s production synthesizes Gunderson’s surface naturalism and stylized details into a satisfying amalgam. One of Whitman’s most famous lines in “Song of Myself” is “I contain multitudes,” and I and You would like to lay claim to that too. But its go-for-broke finish wouldn’t work without the small details of new friendship ringing true, and they do in this likable staging."

Drama in the Hood: I and You - Verbal Pas De Deux

"Director Agastya Kohli deserves credit for keeping up a lively pace; a 90 minute 2 person play is not easy to direct, but the pacing was swift and he kept the actors focused."

Drama in the Hood: Walt Whitman and I and You

"All in all, Pratidhwani and Theater Schmeater have fashioned a fantastic, thought provoking night of magical theater. I heartily encourage you to take this winner in!

Miryam's Theater Musings: Bee Smart and Make a Bee-line to see “Queen”

"While the play is done in the round in ACT’s Bullitt Cabaret, which often makes a play even harder to direct well, Agastya Kohli manages to make it all flow together."

The Seattle Star: Morality Collapse: Pratidhwani’s Queen

"Agastya Kohli’s direction is, as usual, generally invisible, calling no attention to itself with its seamless flow and sensitivity to space."

The Seattle Times: ‘Dance Like a Man’: An Indian family’s intricate relations on stage

"Family tensions, artistic ambitions, gender roles and post-revolutionary convictions intersect in the fascinating “Dance Like a Man,” now on the boards (under Agastya Kohli’s conscientious direction) at ACT Theatre in a presentation by the Seattle ethnic-arts group Pratidhwani."

Miryam's Theater Musings: Brilliant “Dance Like a Man” gives us a real taste of India

"Pratidhwani is giving us a unique opportunity to experience an Indian play by an Indian playwright, Mahesh Dattani, based in India. And it’s a brilliant one, exceptionally well produced and directed by Agastya Kohli. Dance Like a Man, presented at ACT Theatre in their ACTLab partnership, is a family comedy-drama set in one room, a rather conventional set-up for an unfolding theme of much larger scope."

The Seattle Star: The Banyan Tree: Three Easy Pieces

"Director Agastya Kohli has used his cast to excellent advantage. Mr. Kohli clearly knows and loves the text and I think he sufficiently makes his cast love it as well. They play their best for him, without any appearance of merely going through the motions or of hamming it up, despite numerous opportunities to do so."

TV ASIA's coverage of Compleat Works

Published on Sep 8, 2012
Pratidhwani Presents "The Complete works of William Shakespeare" - WA.

The Seattle Star: Against Complacency: Pratidhwani’s Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) Bridges a Gap

"The conversational tone of this production that director Agastya Kohli has established is a perfect approach. It neither patronizes the audience nor alienates them but allows them to feel a part of the production and a part of the exploration, which is absolutely necessary for such an endeavor as this to work at all."

The Seattle Times: 'Mother in Another Language' shows with humor how cultures and mothers-in-law collide

"Co-directors David Hsieh and Agastya Kohli effectively use the play's humor to spotlight the deeper issues it raises. They've guided the extremely competent lead actors to portray their righteousness, confusion and disappointment with subtlety as well as passion."

Seattlest.com: The Comedy of Comprehension: World Premiere of Mother in Another Language

"Directors David Hsieh and Agastya Kohli have brought the theme to life brilliantly. Avoiding traditional comedy cliches, they have emphasized character over device and situation. This excellent choice allows the script to crackle with vitality because the characters are so much more interesting than their circumstances, and allows the play to address its themes directly without ever sounding mechanical or, worse, authorial."