It would not be enough to say that Suvendrini wears many hats: she must have many heads, each, no doubt, with its own hat or two. Or perhaps many brains. Because for Suvendrini it is indeed a question of brains – or ‘the brain’. This is one of the strongest threads that connects Suvendrini’s many projects and practices. As a practising Neurologist Suvendirini has for many years devoted herself to the care of the most forgotten and marginalized; as a playwright, she has devoted her creative practice to the exploration of the relationship between historical trauma and neurological and psychiatric illness, between political and social forces and the suffering of individuals. Her scientific knowledge very obviously informs her writing, but her writing is also clearly a form of experimentation and exploration. In her beautiful and complex work which bridges the domains of science and art, Suvendrini is constantly exploring what is known and chasing after the unknown.
And indeed, Suvendrini spends a lot of time chasing: after Luna, her magnificent Husky who has disappeared on an unannounced hunting expedition in the woods; after the soccer balls that have been fired her way by her talented 12 year-old son. We who are lucky enough to know Suvendrini, however, don’t make the mistake of trying to chase after her. Instead, we excitedly wait for an invitation to one of her always beautiful and thought-provoking productions.
***
What ‘hood are you in?
High Park
What do you do?
Neurologist
What are you currently working on?
Staging Medicine, a project using theatre to enhance creativity and resilience in medical residents.
Where can we follow you?
(…I don’t really have any social media handles…)