James Joyce Immersive
June 2025
Video Designer, Creative Producer
An immersive dramatized reading program celebrating the work of James Joyce.
Kaivalya Plays and the Embassy of Ireland in India present the James Joyce Immersive, a groundbreaking year-long cultural programme that transforms three short stories from James Joyce's Dubliners into multi-sensory theatrical experiences.
As part of the program, we will present three distinct experiences based on "Eveline" "Counterparts" and "Araby" – stories that capture the essence of Joyce's genius for inhabiting the minds of his characters. Through intimate dramatized readings, immersive audio-visual installations, and innovative staging, audiences will step inside the consciousness of Joyce's Dubliners, experiencing their internal struggles, dreams, and moments of revelation as if from within.
The programme opens with "Eveline" at Kiran Nadar Museum of Art – Joyce's masterful portrait of a young woman in 1904 Dublin caught between the safety of tradition and the promise of freedom. As Eveline sits by her window contemplating escape with her lover Frank to Buenos Aires, her internal paralysis becomes a mirror for Ireland itself—a country suspended between its past and an uncertain future. Her inability to choose speaks to something universal about the human condition, while capturing the specific mood of a nation in transition.
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For the James Joyce Immersive, I served as the video designer and creative/technical producer for Eveline. My focus was on building an authentic visual world of early 20th-century Dublin using generative AI tools like Veo 2 and Kling AI. Drawing from archival images, art, and historical references, I designed a series of AI-generated video sequences that mirrored Eveline’s psychological landscape—her memories, fears, and longing—all projected through a two-channel setup that surrounded the audience.
I also coordinated the technical integration: aligning video with an ambisonic 4-speaker soundscape led by Anirbaan Ghosh, working closely with director Varoon P. Anand and performer Kriti Pant, and managing production across partners at KNMA and the Embassy of Ireland. The goal was to create an immersive storytelling format where Joyce’s text could be both seen and felt.
Creative Team
Direction and Design by Varoon P. Anand
Eveline, voiced by Kriti Pant
Sound Design by Anirbaan Gosh (Baan G)
Video Design and Creative Production by Gaurav Singh Nijjer
Technical assistance by Riddhijit Chattopadhyay, Kamlesh Bourai
We would like to thank Ambassdor Kevin Kelly, Sophie Rogan, Armaan Srivastava, Shriya Singh at the Embassy of Ireland in New Delhi for their collaboration and guidance; Divjyot Singh, Ajay Mathews and Rishabh Kakar and other staff members at Kiran Nadar Museum of the Art (KNMA) for their support and Mool for opening up their space to us.
Selected Stories from Dubliners
Eveline
Eveline, a young woman in Dublin, stands on the brink of escape from her oppressive home life with a sailor named Frank. Torn between duty to her family and the promise of a new life, she finds herself paralyzed by fear and memory. In the end, she cannot leave, frozen at the threshold of change.
Araby
A young boy becomes infatuated with his friend’s sister and idealizes her to the point of obsession. He promises to buy her a gift from the exotic Araby bazaar but arrives too late, disillusioned by its banality. The story captures the painful moment when romantic dreams collide with harsh reality.
Counterparts
Farrington, a discontented Dublin copyist, vents his frustrations with work and life through drinking and aggression. After a humiliating day, he seeks control through violence at home. The story exposes the cycles of powerlessness, resentment, and abuse in Joyce’s portrayal of masculinity.
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