Public Obscenities

Abrar Haque (he/him/his) recently made his NY and Off-Broadway debut with Public Obscenities at Soho Rep, and is thrilled to be back telling this story. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Abrar holds a B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley, and found his passion for the arts there as well. He is always in pursuit of tender, reflective stories that teach us something about ourselves and highlight communities that we don’t often see represented. Credits include Babu in a reading of Accidental Feminist (The Public Theater), Fouad in Refugee Rhapsody (Artists Repertory Theater) and Florizel in A Winter’s Tale (Portland Shakes). He thanks his friends and family (Ammu, Abbu, Aniqa, Ahmed, and others) for their authenticity, compassion, and love. IG: @ahawk19

Jakeem Dante Powell can be seen in George C. Wolfe’s critically acclaimed Netflix feature Rustin produced by The Obama’s Higher Ground Production Company. His recent credits include: Public Obscenities (Soho Rep, Drama Desk for Best Ensemble), Slave Play (Broadway and LA premiere), and the streaming play This American Wife (alongside Pulitzer Prize finalists Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley). He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. Instagram: @jakeemdpowell.

Gargi Mukherjee has recently performed in an off-Broadway play, “Public Obscenities,” staged at the Soho Rep, where she won the Drama Desk Ensemble Award for Outstanding Performance and was nominated by Drama League for Distinguished Performance. Recently, she has been working with Radical Evolution in an international theater exchange workshop with Jana Natya Manch from New Delhi. She has also been performing in Women on Fire: Stories from the Frontlines, written and directed by Chris Henry at Royal Family Productions in New York. She is seen on a regular basis at the South Asian Theater Festival, held every year at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center in New Brunswick. Gargi has also appeared in films, including, The Namesake, in which she had a featured role, and Karma Calling, in which she played one of the leads.

She has written/co-written and co-directed well-received plays like, Our Voices, Nirastra (Unarmed), Stories of Jackson Heights, I Shakuntala, and recently co-directed a Bangla adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Gargi also translated and adapted one of Rabindranath Tagore’s short stories and performed it as a monologue, Mrinal’s Letter at the United Solo International Theatre Festival in New York and acted in The Breast Chronicle, also a one-woman show, at the Crossroads Theatre/New York International Fringe Theatre Festival. Gargi has performed in prestigious theater venues like Soho Rep, NJPAC, NBPAC, the Edison Valley Playhouse, Jamaica Performing Arts Center, and Queens Theatre in the Park (NY).

Gargi is also an SVP, Creative Director at Havas Gemini, a healthcare communications company in New York and seems to traverse between theater, films, and advertising effortlessly.

Debashis Roy Chowdhury had his off-Broadway debut in NYC with Soho Rep’s “Public Obscenities” in 2023. He and rest of the cast have received Drama Desk’s ‘Ensemble Award’ in 2023.

Debashis was initiated into theater during his college days in Kolkata, India and was inspired by Badal Sarkar’s third-theater form. In USA, he has acted in English and Bengali plays produced by multiple theater groups in Boston, notably ‘Off-Kendrik’ and ‘SETU’.

Some of his notable roles were: Master-chef Byakaron Singh in “Boro Holo J”, an original play by Off-Kendrik, Boston; Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Vatia in “Spartacus” written by Badal Sarkar (Kolkata); Kaka-saheb(uncle) in Vijay Tendulkar’s “Kamala” (SETU, Boston); O’Brien in Bengali adaptation of “1984” (Kolkata).

Debashis had directed plays in English and Bengali, namely, “Power to the People” and “Pakhir Paona”. He is a vocalist trained in North Indian classical music tradition. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

Tashnuva Anan is a pioneering transgender human rights activist, actress, model, and dancer hailing from Bangladesh. She made history by becoming Bangladesh’s first transgender news anchor, breaking down gender barriers and inspiring others in the transgender community to pursue mainstream careers. Tashnuva also holds a unique position on the ILGA World board as the sole Bangladeshi representative.

With a background in public health, she has dedicated years to advocating for the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, and sex characteristics) individuals in South Asia. Her advocacy centers around advancing the human rights of SOGIESC individuals and Human Rights Organizations.

Beyond her activism, Tashnuva is a versatile artist, having acted, designed, directed, and managed stages in numerous productions. Her notable roles include appearances in productions like “Tamoshik,” “Nononpurer melay ekjon komla sundori o ekti bagh ase,” and “Khona.” She has also received accolades for her talent, such as the Drama Desk Award for her role as Shou in “Public Obscenities” and the Annyanya Human Rights Award for her tireless efforts in promoting transgender rights in Bangladesh.

Explore her work further at www.tashnuvaanan.com.

Photo Credit: Desmond Picotte for The New York Times

Golam Sarwar Harun is a singer, actor, playwright, and a director. He recently completed an off-Broadway run of Public Obscenities where he played the character of Jitesh and won the Drama Desk Ensemble award for Outstanding Performance. Most recently, he has been working with Radical Evolution in an international theater exchange workshop with Jana Natya Manch from New Delhi.

Harun also directs films and television commercials. As an actor, he has played the lead in Three Penny Opera, Marat-Sade, and Mrichchakatikam, among others. He is the Artistic Director of Dhaka Drama, a theater group founded in Queens, New York, and has co-directed plays like I Shakuntala, No Man’s Land, Nirastra (Unarmed), and directed Dhaboman (The Run), among others. His works have featured in multiple South Asian Theatre Festivals over the years. Apart from the theatre world, Harun has acted in multiple films from Bangladesh, and most notably in Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist in the US.

Harun has been the recipient of theater grants from Queens Council on the Arts for his co-written play, Stories of Jackson Heights, which was a major success in the prestigious Queens Theatre. Harun also received the Citizens Committee for New York City grant for his collaborative venture, I Shakuntala.

NaFis (they/she/he) is a Bangladesh-born and raised, non-binary, queer actor and singer from Queens, New York. November of 2023 will mark NaFis’s seventh year in America. Earlier this year, she originated the role of Sebanti and made her Off-broadway debut in Public Obsceneties at Soho Rep. She is thrilled to reprise her role with her Drama Desk winning cast at Woolly! Other select credits include THEATRE: TINDERELLA: The Modern Musical (Dylan; BroadwayWorld 2022 Regional Awards: Best Performer in a Musical), RENT (Angel), The 25th Annual…Spelling Bee (Barfeé), Place of Assembly (Mr. Marsh), The Fold (Khalil), Polar Express (KIA). FILM: Who Killed Taniya (Nadiya). NaFis dedicates their performance to all the Hijras and Kotis. He aspires to be part of more new and existing stories that push boundaries and stereotypes. They are thankful for this opportunity and hope you enjoy the show! “Follow your dreams and find your chosen family! <3” IG: @nafis_storyteller.

Born in India, based in Brooklyn, Misha wrote Public Obscenities as an inaugural Project Number One Artist at Soho Rep, where he directed the play’s premiere “with a swooning hypnotism reminiscent of the best works of neorealism” (NYTimes, Critic’s Pick). A many-tentacled artist, Misha has been honored with the Relentless Award, Drama Desk and Drama League nominations, the Mark O’Donnell Prize, a Princess Grace Award, and a Jonathan Larson Grant for musical theater. Misha collaborated on the Grammy-winning album Calling All Dawns. Other favorites: Brother, Brother (New York Theatre Workshop) with Aleshea Harris; SPEECH (Philly Fringe) with Lightning Rod Special; MukhAgni (Under the Radar @ The Public Theater) with Kameron Neal. Misha is also a Sundance Fellow and the creator of VICHITRA, a series of short films rooted in queer South Asian imagination. A Fulbright, Kundiman, and NYSCA/NYFA fellow, Misha’s poetry has been published in The Cincinnati Review, TriQuarterly, and elsewhere. BA: Stanford. MFA: Columbia.