Many stories have been told about the anxieties and frustrations of bureaucracy. This production, written and performed by Himanshu Sitlani and Neha Poduval, brings to such a story a most human face.
The two performers are also the founders of Nautanki Bazaar, a company that promotes tales from South Asian communities. Many of those tales are about the immigrant experience, both positive and negative, and this play tries to balance both.
Himanshu (the character) is originally from Kuwait but has been moved to Mumbai due to conflict. He marries Neha (the character), who has always lived in Mumbai. He finally convinces Neha to move to Canada where there is more opportunity.
Arriving in Toronto and staying with relatives, the couple is initially pleased with the decision. They understand the bureaucratic mountain to climb and wade into the depths of paperwork. A new city and a new apartment freshen their lives – until work is hard to find – night shifts pose difficulties for the relationship, and the paperwork mounts.
Sitlani’s performance is charged with optimism, only to be constantly knocked down. His open face and wide eyes reflect the roller coaster of their travails. As optimistic as he tries to be, his body language, with a hanging head and slumped shoulders, belies his efforts.
Both actors often break into parodies of secondary characters, which moves the plot and offers comic brightness. In the depths of despair, Sitlani comically plays Neha’s mother, who is in agony and falls prostrate on the floor. His breadth of acting creates a scene both hilarious and tragic.
Poduval’s performance is equally diverse. Her practicality and resistance to change are a contrast to her husband’s adventurism. She is also the profane one – quick to anger with a sharp tongue. Like Himanshu, she also dives into a mocking performance – this time as dad or uncle. Her spectrum from happiness to despair is much wider than her husband’s.
Bureaucracy is almost a third character on stage. Jung-Hye Kim’s set is simple – random piles of paper suggest the constant enemy, and various pieces of luggage suggest an unmoored life. Laughs come at the expense of forms with needless and insensitive government questions – how many condoms did you use on your honeymoon?
A most profound statement about bureaucracy comes from the suggestion that it is not what you put on paper, but how you put it on paper.
Other comic highlights come from their wonder at seeing Toronto. Hilarious Benny Hill music mocks their navigation of a complicated transit system.
This story is not only about two souls in the darkness of administrative red tape. It is also about home – where we find it or how we find it. Himanshu and Neha may have found it in each other. They may be hanging on by their pinky fingers – but they are hanging on.
‘An IMM-Permanent Resident’ by Himanshu Sitlani and Neha Poduval
A Nautanki Bazaar Production with Factory Theatre
Performers: Himanshu Sitlani, Neha Poduval
Director: Miquelon Rodriguez
Set and costume designer: Jung-Hye Kim
Lighting designer: Tushar Tukaram Dalvi
Runs through: March 22, 2026.
Tickets: factorytheatre.ca
