[category]
[title]
October is shaping up to be a rather good month for theatre in Delhi. Many of the city's legendary stages are bringing together everything from literary adaptations and political theatre to large-scale productions and plays starring some popular faces. The biggest events for the month remain the BRICS Theatre Festival 2026 and Natya Kumbh 2026, both happening in Mandi House. But there’s a lot more beyond the Broadway of the city, whether you’re in the mood for a little existential dread, a Hindi literary adaptation or a full-blown theatre festival.
Here are seven productions and festivals worth bookmarking this month:
Silhouettes | Kamani Auditorium
The Wire is hosting a special run of Sandhya Gokhale’s Silhouettes, starring Divya Seth, Niiya Kumar, Sarah Hashmi and Karan Parab, with a special appearance by Amol Palekar. And yes, that cameo alone is enough reason to pay attention. As the title suggests, Silhouettes is interested in shadows, what we see and, more importantly, what we don’t. The English language play follows three women navigating the ways they are seen, judged and defined by others: Greta, who is accused of art theft; Maya, a respected literature professor caught in the gaze of Aakash, a young documentary maker; and Deep, whose restless resistance channels the spirit of Gen Z.
The screenplay is written by Gokhale, whose eight acclaimed feature-film screenplays, including Anaahat, Paheli and Quest, have consistently placed strongly written female characters at the centre.
When: Monday, October 26, 2026, 7pm
Where: Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, opposite Doordarshan Bhawan, Mandi House, New Delhi
Nearest metro: Mandi House (blue and violet lines)
Tickets: ₹1,000–10,000
BRICS Theatre Festival 2026 | National School of Drama and other venues in Mandi House
The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, is presenting the BRICS Theatre Festival 2026, bringing together theatrical traditions, contemporary styles and narratives from BRICS Member and Partner Countries, including South Africa, Ethiopia, Singapore and Vietnam. The festival kicks off at the National School of Drama (NSD) with the inaugural performance of Sagar Manthan at the Abhimanch auditorium. The programme then expands across the Mandi House cultural hub, with performances at venues including Kamani, LTG, Sammukh and Meghdoot. One of the performances on the programme is Iluh Tana, presented by a theatre troupe from Indonesia.
In other words, this is your three-day excuse to camp around Mandi House. The October weather will surely help.
When: Monday–Wednesday, October 12–14, 2026; multiple slots
Where: National School of Drama and other venues in Mandi House
Nearest metro: Mandi House (blue and violet lines)
Tickets: Vary according to the play
Natya Kumbh 2026 | LTG Auditorium
Sixteen plays, three cities and enough theatre to stuff your calendar. Natya Kumbh 2026, the second edition of Vibgyor’s theatre festival, is bringing 16 original plays by playwright Mrinal Mathur to Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai, with the Delhi performances taking over LTG Auditorium. The line-up jumps across genres, from comedy and drama to satire, musicals, historical fiction, storytelling and contemporary Indian theatre. The festival also brings some familiar names to the stage, including Dalip Tahil, Ashwin Mushran, Vijay Vikram Singh, Saleem Shah and Abhinav Chaturvedi, among others.
Among the productions on the roster are Akhbar The Great Nahi Rahe, All Men Are Dogs and Lal Qile Ka Akhiri Mukadma.
When: Multiple dates and slots
Where: LTG Auditorium, Delhi
Nearest metro: Mandi House (blue and violet lines)
Tickets: Vary according to the show
Lafzon Ki Gathri | Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts
Two heavyweight names from Hindi cinema and theatre, Seema Pahwa and Ratna Pathak Shah, come together on stage for Lafzon Ki Gathri, a 90-minute production rooted in the works of Bhisham Sahni and Mannu Bhandari. Directed by Pahwa, the production brings together stories about ordinary lives, relationships, loneliness, social expectations and the quieter struggles that often go unnoticed. Nostalgia and memory are woven through the production, making this one for anyone who likes their theatre intimate and literary.
Lafzon Ki Gathri promises an evening that is less about spectacle and more about the stories we carry with us.
When: October 24, 2026; multiple slots
Where: Sri Ram Centre for Performing Arts, Safdar Hashmi Marg, Mandi House, New Delhi
Nearest metro: Mandi House (blue and violet lines)
Tickets: ₹500 onwards
Ghalib in New Delhi | NCUI Auditorium
What happens when Mirza Ghalib wakes up in 21st-century Delhi? A lot of chaos, naturally. Delhi's long-running satirical favourite Ghalib in New Delhi imagines the legendary Urdu poet navigating modern-day Delhi, complete with public transport, student apartments, landlords, inflation and the unavoidable realities of social media.
The play has spent decades travelling across India and beyond, but its homecoming remains a crowd-puller. Expect a generous helping of satire, Delhi-specific humour and Ghalib trying to make sense of a city that has changed considerably since his time.
When: Multiple dates and slots
Where: NCUI Auditorium, Delhi
Nearest metro: Green Park (yellow line)
Tickets: ₹150–500
The Sightless | India Habitat Centre
A forest, a missing guide and a group of people who have absolutely no idea what comes next. The Sightless is a haunting adaptation of Maurice Maeterlinck’s The Blind, following a group stranded in a forest after their guide mysteriously disappears.
As they wait in the darkness, uncertainty begins to take over. What starts as a simple wait for their guide becomes an atmospheric exploration of isolation, fear, helplessness and human instinct. If your ideal theatre outing involves a little mystery and a lot of atmosphere, this one deserves a spot on your October calendar.
When: October 11, 2026
Where: India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Nearest metro: Jor Bagh (yellow line)
Tickets: ₹200
Kheyechish? | Project Otenga
What do you serve when hunger is the story? Kheyechish? (Bengali for 'Did you eat?') is a 90-minute solo performance where theatre and live cooking share the stage, with Meghna Roy Choudhury making Alu Posto and Phena Bhaat as the story unfolds. Both are dishes born of famine, and here they double as memory, archive and a theatrical language of their own.
Inspired by Bertolt Brecht's poem 'The Shopper', the play moves through autobiography, humour and storytelling to take on chosen and forced hunger, migration, precarious artistic labour and the quiet inheritances we carry. It was created with the support of the Niloufer Sagar Alumni Production Grant.
In other words, this one is for anyone who likes their theatre personal, political and served with a side of Bengal.
When: October 11, 2026
Where: Project Otenga, Shaheedi Park
Nearest metro: Delhi Gate (violet line)
Tickets: Starting ₹1,890