The show takes aim at wellness capitalism and the commercialization of Western yoga
It has been announced that actor and yoga professor Mayuri Bhandari (Ms. Marvel, The Lincoln Lawyer) will bring her show The Anti ‘Yogi’ to the Soho Theatre from the 6th to the 16th May.
This solo show directed by Shyamala Moorty and D’Lo combines dance, poetry, and live percussion by Neel Agrawal to examine the absurdities of modern yoga culture.
The Anti ‘Yogi’ is based on Bhandari’s personal experiences of being the only person of Indian heritage in yoga instruction classes full of white, spandexed Americans. It aims to take audiences back to yoga’s roots.
Mayuri performs as Kali, the Hindu goddess of death, who’s come to Earth but her journey gets lost in translation when she mistakes modern yoga culture for a battlefield – not the annihilation she expected. Multi-roling, Mayuri recounts the microaggressions she’s faced as a South Asian Jain woman, and times when she’s been corrected on her own heritage.
Talking about the show, Mayuri said: “Our show is to be felt, not just intellectually understood. At its core, The Anti “Yogi” is a call to action, not only to reflect a mirror back, but to call out our own ignorance through humor and depth. To bring this show from Edinburgh Fringe to London for its West End Premiere at Soho Theatre has been surreal. We have such an incredible, growing community both on and offline, and having the chance to include London and its massive South Asian community in this conversation is a huge milestone for our production. It’s a show for everyone. We can’t wait to see how the energy of London shapes this living, breathing story.”
To book tickets visit: https://sohotheatre.com/events/the-anti-yogi/