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Established in 1981 to serve the artistic needs of actors of South Asian descent living in Canada, Montreal-based Teesri Duniya Theatre has evolved into a company that highlights and fosters the country's rich human tapestry.

Artists of many cultures, colours, languages and heritages have come together at Teesri Duniya ("Third World" in Hindustani) to collaborate on the creation, development and production of, thus far, more than 25 socially relevant plays in the company's history.

Under the guidance, imagination and often the pen of Rahul Varma, Teesri Duniya's Indian-born co-founder and artistic director, the company has nurtured an innovative, mosaic approach to Canadian theatre. It is both influenced by the artists' cultural and national roots, and reflective and responsive to the cultural experiences of living in Canada.

With the 1990 production of Varma's Land Where the Trees Talk, Montreal audiences saw for the first time a play with a First Nations theme, written by a playwright of Indian origin and performed by 13 multi-ethnic actors working in a style informed by India's nautanki theatrical tradition.

Later works have continued to bridge cultural and linguistic lines. Following a successful run in the mid-1990s of the critically acclaimed Counter Offence - Varma's examination of conjugal violence against women among new Canadians and new Québécois - the play was adapted into French (L'Affaire Farhadi, 1999). It earned Teesri Duniya the distinction of becoming Canada's first intercultural artistic company to launch a French-language production.

The company has presented plays that look at the horrors of war (Silvija Jestrovic's Noah's Ark 747), political turmoil (Jason Sherman's Reading Hebron) and human tragedy (Varma's Bhopal).

Based on the 1984 gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, India that claimed tens of thousands of lives, Bhopal has been translated into Hindustani (Zahreeli Hawa, meaning "poison gas") and has been performed in India. Teesri Duniya plans to present a French-language version of the enormously successful play in both Montreal and Quebec City.

Also involved in staging a reading series, called “Fireworks,” which showcases first-time, emerging and established playwrights from native, ethnic and mainstream communities; and publishing a theatre quarterly, alt.theatre: cultural diversity and the stage, Teesri Duniya recently embarked on yet another first - this time, as a presenting company.

In March, it joined with the gallery, Montréal, Arts Interculturels to stage The Adventures of Ali & Ali and the Axes of Evil ("an inspections-free frontal assault on the Newest New World Order"), a touring co-production from Toronto's Cahoots Theatre and NeWorld Theatre of Vancouver.

- Christopher Guly