What happens when motherhood changes not just a woman’s life but her very sense of self?
Adapted for the stage from the book The Elephant in the Womb, Belly of the Beast is Aadyam Theatre’s third production of the season, written by Kalki Koechlin and Sheena Khalid and directed by Khalid.
The play follows five women at different stages of motherhood, from pregnancy and labour to postpartum life, raising young children and learning to let go. As their worlds shift, they find themselves transforming into mythical creatures, reflecting the emotional and physical intensity of their journeys. Drawing from lived experiences and testimonies, Belly of the Beast explores motherhood in all its contradictions; beautiful and terrifying, exhausting and tender, deeply personal yet universally resonant.
A Modern Myth
Rather than approaching motherhood through realism alone, the play embraces the language of myth.
At the centre of the play are five creatures – a dragon, a unicorn, a spider demon, a vampire and a werewolf. Emerging from the inner worlds of the women they represent, these creatures embody emotions that are often difficult to articulate, giving shape to fear, desire, rage, vulnerability and resilience.
Moving fluidly between the ordinary and the extraordinary, the production transforms intimate experiences into something larger, stranger and deeply theatrical.
Creating the World of the Play
To bring this universe to life, the production combines shadow puppetry, live music and movement, creating a visual language that shifts between intimate moments and dreamlike theatrical landscapes.
Created in collaboration with acclaimed puppeteer Anurupa Roy, the shadow work allows the mythical creatures to exist alongside the performers, while an original live score by Guy Hershberg deepens the emotional texture of the production. Together, these elements create a world where reality and imagination coexist, often blurring into one another.
Belly of the Beast stars Kalki Koechlin, Kettan Singh, Amba-Suhasini K. Jhala, Rachel D’Souza, Shanaya Rafaat and Shruti Vyas.
Hearing it from the Creators
Talking about shaping the production and playing an integral role as an actor, Kalki Koechlin said, “Pregnancy is tough, birth is gruesome and postpartum is hell, but more horrifying than all three is society’s completely casual approach to one of the most epic experiences life has to offer. Only when you become a mother do you awaken to the intensity and wonder of it all, to the sheer strength of character required to create life, and to transformations of mythic proportions that are unleashed upon mothers. This isn’t a cute play on the gift of motherhood; this is you walking straight into the belly of the beast.”
Talking about shaping the world of Belly of the Beast, Sheena Khalid said, “When I read Elephant in the Womb, I was immediately drawn to its world. It was playful and something that really left me intrigued. I have always been a fan of Kalki’s writing, so when she suggested adapting it for the stage, I was genuinely excited. I am not a mother, but the research for this play completely shifted in me. The conversations with friends, the stories of mothers, and a deep dive into what it actually means to grow a human being inside you, the challenges and the glory of it, revealed far more than I had anticipated.”
She added, “I found the graphic style of the novel intriguing. To preserve that intrigue, we thought that shadow puppetry and working with overhead projectors would work really well with the genesis of the book. Also, I always wanted to collaborate with Anurupa Roy, the puppeteer. So that’s kind of how all of these things started coming together.”
An Unflinching Portrait of Motherhood
At its heart, Belly of the Beast is not presenting motherhood as a singular experience. Instead, it embraces its complexity, making space for love and exhaustion, care and rage, wonder and uncertainty to exist side by side.
Compassionate, darkly funny and visually inventive, the play offers an unflinching portrait of a life changing journey and the many transformations that come with it.
Book your tickets on BookMyShow right away to be a part of the experience.
