Shayok Misha Chowdhury
| Shayok Misha Chowdhury | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 22, 1984 Kolkata, India |
| 🏫 Education | Stanford University (BA) Columbia University (MFA) |
| 💼 Occupation |
|
Shayok Misha Chowdhury (born December 22, 1984)[1] is an Indian-American playwright, known for his works exploring Indian-American identity, such as Public Obscenities, which was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[2]
Early life
Chowdhury was born in Kolkata, India. His grandfather passed seven years before he was born, which inspired part of his play, Public Obscenities.[3] He was raised in Boston, Massachusetts before moving to New York City.[4]
Career
Chowdhury made his playwriting and directing debut with Mukhagni in 2020 in The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival. The piece explored themes of queerness, grief and the ritual of death with the actors performing nude.[5]
Next, he wrote Public Obscenities, a play following a gay couple, one of whom grew up in Kolkata, returning there for research on queer dating in India. The main character of Choton was based on Chowdhury and his own experience coming back to his home country as a gay man.[6] The play premiered at Soho Rep in 2023 to positive reviews, with The New York Times lauding the "uniformly excellent cast and the deliberate pacing of a confident playwright," naming the production a Critic's Pick.[7]
For his work, Chowdhury was nominated for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Drama League Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play, along with the play receiving five Drama Desk Award nominations, winning for Outstanding Ensemble. In 2024, the show was then produced at Theatre for a New Audience[8] and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C..[9]
His 2026 play, Rheology, starred his mother Bulbul Chakraborty, a physicist, in a story about the bond between an artist son and a STEM-minded mother. The play opened at Playwrights Horizons Off-Broadway April 14, 2026, running through May 29 of the same year.[10] The show received positive reviews, with The New York Times calling it a "delight",[11] and was nominated for the 2026 Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Play[12] and Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.[13]
Chowdhury has also served as director for several notable productions, such as 2025's Prince Faggot by Jordan Tannahill, The Ziegfeld Files by Jesse Eisenberg and The Gospel at Colonus by Bob Telson and Lee Breuer on Little Island at Pier 55.[14] For his direction of Prince Faggot, he was nominated for a Drama League Award[15] and Lucille Lortel Award.[16]
Personal life
Chowdhury is openly gay.[17]
Stage credits
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | MukhAgni | Playwright/Director | Off-Broadway, The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival | [18] |
| 2023 | Public Obscenities | Off-Broadway, Playwrights Horizons | [19] | |
| 2024 | Off-Broadway, Theatre for a New Audience | |||
| 2025 | Prince Faggot | Director | Off-Broadway, Playwrights Horizons | |
| Off-Broadway, Studio Seaview | ||||
| The Gospel at Colonus | Off-Broadway, Little Island at Pier 55 | |||
| The Ziegfeld Files | Playwright/Director | Off-Broadway, Studio Seaview | ||
| 2026 | Rheology | Playwright/Director/Performer | Off-Broadway, Playwrights Horizons |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Public Obscenities | Nominated | [20][21] |
| Drama League Award | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Nominated | [22] | ||
| 2024 | Pulitzer Prize for Drama | Nominated | [23] | ||
| Obie Award | Distinguished Direction | Nominated | [24] | ||
| 2026 | Drama League Award | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Prince Faggot | Nominated | [25][26] |
| Outstanding Production of a Play | Rheology | Nominated | |||
| Lucille Lortel Award | Outstanding Director | Prince Faggot | Nominated | [27][28] | |
| Drama Desk Award | Unique Theatrical Experience | Rheology | Nominated | [29] | |
References
- ↑ Instagram. (n.d.). Post [Instagram post]. Retrieved May 25, 2026, from https://www.instagram.com/p/CmfFuLePkQ6/
- ↑ "Eboni Booth's 'Primary Trust' Wins 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama". Deadline. May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Shayok Misha Chowdhury Took His Life in India and Turned It Into Public Obscenities". Playbill. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ Patrick Folliard (November 17, 2023). "Memories of time spent in India revealed in 'Public Obscenities'". Washington Blade. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ "MukhAgni". Shayok Misha Chowdhury. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ Patrick Folliard (November 17, 2023). "Memories of time spent in India revealed in 'Public Obscenities'". Washington Blade. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ Jesse Green (March 2, 2023). "'Public Obscenities' Review: A Bilingual Journey Through Intimacy and Translation". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Public Obscenities". Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA). Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Public Obscenities". Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Retrieved 2026-05-25.
- ↑ "Rheology". Playwrights Horizons. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ Juan A. Ramírez (April 29, 2025). "'All the World's a Stage' and 'Rheology' Are Promising New Productions". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ Hipes, Patrick (April 20, 2026). "Daniel Radcliffe, Luke Evans Among Drama League Award Nominees". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-05-25.
- ↑ Gans, Andrew (May 17, 2026). "Ragtime Leads 2026 Drama Desk Awards; Read the Full List of Winners". Playbill. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ "The Gospel at Colonus". Little Island. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ Hipes, Patrick (April 20, 2026). "Daniel Radcliffe, Luke Evans Among Drama League Award Nominees". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-04-20.
- ↑ Culwell-Block, Logan (3 May 2026). "Mexodus Wins 4 Lucille Lortel Awards; See the Full List of Winners". Playbill. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
- ↑ Patrick Folliard (November 17, 2023). "Memories of time spent in India revealed in 'Public Obscenities'". Washington Blade. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ Kameron Neal, MukhAgni (Work Page), KameronNeal.com, https://www.kameronneal.com/work/mukhagni, accessed 2026-05-25
- ↑ BroadwayWorld, Shayok Misha Chowdhury (Playwright): Credits, Bio, News & More, https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Shayok-Misha-Chowdhury/, accessed 2026-05-25
- ↑ "2023 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ Logan Culwell-Block (May 31, 2023). "Some Like It Hot Dominates 2023 Drama Desk Awards; See the Full List of Winners". Playbill. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ "2023 Drama League Award Winners Announced". New York Theatre Guide. Retrieved 2026-05-25.
- ↑ Logan Culwell-Block (May 6, 2024). "Eboni Booth's Primary Trust Wins 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama". Playbill. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ "67th Obie Award Winners Announced". Obie Awards. January 27, 2024. Retrieved 2026-05-25.
- ↑ Gans, Andrew (April 20, 2026). "2026 Drama League Awards Nominations Are Out; Read the Full List". Playbill. Retrieved 2026-05-25.
- ↑ Hipes, Patrick (April 20, 2026). "Daniel Radcliffe, Luke Evans Among Drama League Award Nominees". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-05-25.
- ↑ "MEXODUS and PRINCE F*GGOT Lead 2026 Lucille Lortel Nominations". BroadwayWorld. April 1, 2026. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ Culwell-Block, Logan (3 May 2026). "Mexodus Wins 4 Lucille Lortel Awards; See the Full List of Winners". Playbill. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
- ↑ Gans, Andrew (May 17, 2026). "Ragtime Leads 2026 Drama Desk Awards; Read the Full List of Winners". Playbill. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
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