The Huntington to Present Work-in-progress Presentation Of Mahira Kakkar's A MONGOOSE SPEAKS

The Huntington will present a work-in-progress presentation of A Mongoose Speaks, written by Mahira Kakkar and directed by Danilo Gambini. A reading that is free and open to the public will be presented on Monday, June 30, 2025 at 7pm at the Calderwood Pavilion.
 
In A Mongoose Speaks, a little mongoose bears witness to a sacred sacrifice and he's changed. His fur turns gold; his silence breaks into speech. No longer fully animal, not yet something else, he is caught half-transformed — uncertain and becoming. Told in lyrical dialogue alongside a live tabla player, the story is a funny and surprising exploration of selfhood, sacrifice, and the desire to evolve again and again into something more. 
 
Growing up in India, playwright Mahira Kakkar found live performances of the Mahabharata spellbinding; now she's creating a bold cycle of plays that center the epic’s forgotten voices and overlooked characters. 
 
Kakkar previously developed another piece in the Mahabharata Cycle, Draupadi, at The Huntington in the December New Play Intensive in 2024. The Huntington has commissioned a third piece in the cycle with support from The Barr Foundation.  
 
 
NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT AT THE HUNTINGTON
 
The Huntington is passionately committed to supporting, developing, and producing new work, and has produced over 150 New England, American, or world premieres since its founding in 1982. The Huntington co-produced eight world premiere productions in August Wilson's Century Cycle. Endeavors to contribute to the American theatrical canon expanded considerably since 2004 with the creation of the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, which opened with a world premiere by local playwright Melinda Lopez.
 
The arrival of nationally renowned new play expert Loretta Greco as Artistic Director in 2022 has brought a vibrant era of new work at the theatre – including the world premiere of Joy & Pandemic by Taylor Mac; the world premiere of K-I-S-S-I-N-G by Lenelle Moïse (winner of the 2023 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding New Script); second productions of Kimberly Belflower's John Proctor is the Villain and Lloyd Suh's The Heart Sellers; and the nationally recognized Ufot Family Cycle by playwright Mfoniso Udofia. The Ufot Family Cycle is an unprecedented, citywide festival that has brought a nine-play series, including five world premieres, to Greater Boston audiences in innovative partnership with more than 35 local organizations. Mfoniso Udofia's The Grove premiered at The Huntington this past season, and was recently recognized with the 2025 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding New Script.
 
Loretta Greco has also commissioned work for The Huntington by Mfoniso Udofia, Lloyd Suh, Lenelle Moïse, Mahira Kakkar, Carmen Pelaez, Hana Kim, and Fan Zhou, among others.