Play on 26/11 terror attacks at Fringe fest

A theatrical performance of survivor stories from the 26/11 terror attacks in the city is on its way to the largest multi-arts festival in North America.

A theatrical performance of survivor stories from the 26/11 terror attacks in the city is on its way to the largest multi-arts festival in North America. The play called A Personal War will be enacted at the New York International Fringe Festival in the second week of August. “It is a compilation of real-life survivor stories from the 26/11 attack,” says Vivaan Bhatena, who plays a waiter at Golden Dragon, the restaurant at the Taj hotel that was attacked.

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In an attempt to instill hope and faith in people around the world who lost loved ones, A Personal War is working in association with the Commissioner’s office. “We’re raising funds for the Police Commissioner’s Office and all those people who lost their near and dear ones during the operation,” says Bhatena.

The play, which has been performed at the NCPA in the past, was selected for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last month as well. "When it was performed at Edinburgh, Scotland, we met people from Ireland who had only read about the 26/11 attacks as a small snippet in the newspapers. They had no clue of the scale of the siege," says the actor.

Not a vampire
The actor, who was last seen in Karthik Calling Karthik, was also rumoured to be the next choice for the Indian Robert Pattinson in Ekta Kapoor’s desi televised version of the international hit, Twilight Series. But he denies the news, saying: “I have opted out of the show because I had to perform this play, and my dates were clashing.”