Sunita Sen and Mukesh Singh are close friends pursuing academic careers; she’s focusing on Indian history while he is studying English literature. Taking place over 40 years, Chaos Theory follows the pair’s relationship as they immigrate from India to the US and both become professors at Columbia University. Anuvab Pal’s play asks what it takes to survive in a new country, what it means to thrive in academia, and how identity complicates all of it.

Chaos Theory was first performed in 2005 as part of the ArtWallah Festival in LA. The play was a finalist in the BBC World Playwrighting Competition and was produced again in 2010 by Pulse Ensemble Theatre. 

The Refocus Project is made possible by the Champions for Inclusive Theatre and Roundabout’s Forward Fund. We acknowledge the generous friends who support our many efforts to increase representation and inclusion in all aspects of theatre: Elizabeth Armstrong, Bank of America, Eugene and Joann Bissell and the Lillian Lincoln Foundation, Kevin Brown, Barbara and Peter Bye, Ginger McKnight Chavers, the Ford Foundation, Jill and Barry Lafer, Gina Maria Leonetti, Iva Mills, Beryl Snyder, and Denise Littlefield Sobel.