New Delhi · Mumbai · Since 2012
We use the performing arts to train, engage and move people.
The Roots India is a multi-disciplinary creative lab. We bring theatre, music, movement and storytelling into schools, corporate organisations and brands — and we create original musicals and performances for audiences across India.
The Roots India
India’s First Multi-Disciplinary Creative Lab
As a multi-disciplinary creative lab, The Roots India, integrates different art forms and explores newer aspects of performance through experimentation. We are committed to find different methods through exploration and to create new processes for nurturing the creativity of the artist to propagate the art effectively. We aim to fringe multiple disciplines of creative arts to explore and experiment alternate methodologies in varied sectors like corporates, educational institutions, individuals with special needs and content creation.
Creativity Across Spaces
Where stories find expression, performance creates movement, and people become part of the experience.
Educational Institutes
Corporate Organizations
Brands
Performance Spaces
Ideas Beyond Limits
What we do
Six ways we put the performing arts to work. Most projects use more than one.
Skills you learn by doing — on your feet, in a room, together.
We design and run performance-based training for employees, students, actors, women and community groups. Every module uses the tools of theatre — voice, body, improvisation and ensemble — to build skills that last well beyond the workshop.
- Employee & leadership training — communication, presence, storytelling and collaboration
- Values in action — workshops that align workforces, audiences and students with an organisation’s values
- Essential skills for students — confidence, public speaking, empathy and teamwork
- Actor Training Programme — structured courses and intensives for aspiring and working actors
- Women’s programmes — voice, self-expression and leadership through performance
- Kids’ theatre & creative play — age-specific modules from early years upward
- Community workshops — training in community spaces, open to all
- Train the trainer — performance tools for teachers and facilitators
Original theatre made in-house — from Broadway-style musicals to a story told for ten people
We write, compose, direct and produce our own work. Some of it fills auditoriums; some of it happens on a street corner or in a room where the audience sits inside the story.
- Musicals — Broadway-style original musicals with live music, choreography and large ensembles
- Theatre for Change — street theatre (nukkad natak) and community projects, built by listening to the people they’re about
- Immersive & intimate theatre — audiences inside the story, in unexpected spaces
- Children’s theatre — plays made for young audiences, right down to early years
- Commissioned productions — large-scale productions for government and institutions
- School & college productions — annual day shows written and directed around your students
- Site-specific performance — heritage sites, campuses, offices and public spaces
- Touring productions — shows that travel to schools, festivals and venues
We get to know your brand, then build a human experience around it.
Brands talk to people through screens all day. We put them in a room together. Using theatre, music, movement and design, we turn a brand’s culture and values into something audiences live through — and remember.
- Brand immersion first — we study your culture, values and audience before writing a single scene
- Live activations & performances — for launches, events, retail and public spaces
- Values-led projects — performance projects shaped around your brand’s purpose, from CSR to internal campaigns
- Experience centres & curated spaces — spaces where visitors meet your brand through story
- Culture for your own people — performances that bring company values to life for employees
- Performers for content — actors, writers and directors for campaigns, films and reels
Formats that grow every year — our own, or built for you.
A one-off event is forgotten in a week. An IP builds a following. We create and run performance formats — festivals, series and platforms — that come back bigger each season.
- Our IPs — The Roots Short Play Festival and Shorts Live, a pan-India short-play platform
- IPs for brands — signature festivals, competitions or series a brand can own and scale
- Curated seasons — programming for venues, studios, campuses and cities
- Talent platforms — open calls that discover new writers, directors and performers
- Format design — concept, identity, rules and a production playbook, ready to repeat
Art shouldn't need a ticket price or an invitation.
We believe everyone should have a way into the arts — as an audience, a learner or an artist. This is the part of our work that gives back to the ecosystem we come from.
- The Roots Talks — a talk series with artists, thinkers and practitioners, open to the public
- Fellowships — supported fellowships that give emerging artists time, mentorship and a stage
- Young Artist Platform — events, city tours, training and a network for young performers
- Inclusive theatre — work made with and for people of all abilities
- Performing Arts Archive — documenting performance spaces, texts, communities and artists
Stories written for the stage, the screen and the scroll.
Every piece we make starts with writing. Our writers develop original scripts, musicals and short-form content for our own productions, for institutions and for brands.
- Original scripts & adaptations — plays for every age and audience
- Musical book & lyrics — story and songs for original musicals
- Scripts for organisations & brands — stories built around a message, without feeling like an ad
- Short-form content — theatrical sketches and reels made for social platforms
- Writing workshops — script development for new and growing writers
What we make
Three things, done with craft
Whatever the space, our work comes down to creating, training and engaging — often all three in one project.
Create
Original musicals, plays and performances — written, composed and staged in-house, from children's theatre to government commissions seen by national audiences.
- Musicals
- Original plays
- Commissions
Train
Acting, voice, movement and communication — for students, teachers, professionals and artists, taught by practitioners who perform.
- Workshops
- Intensives
- Curriculum
Engage
Interactive and immersive experiences that pull audiences in — for teams, communities, campuses and brand events.
- Team engagement
- Immersive
- Festivals
Trusted By
Voices of Impact
“Stepping onto the stage as a partner was a new experience for me. It changed how I looked at team engagement. Through performing arts, we found a more interactive way to communicate ideas, encourage participation and connect beyond our professional roles. It brought a different energy to the team and showed me the value of learning through shared experiences.”
3. I’ve always believed that a space is defined not merely by its architecture, but by the experiences it makes possible. The Roots India brings this philosophy to life through performing arts, immersive storytelling and thoughtfully curated performances, transforming familiar settings into imaginative worlds, from jungles to museums. Their work has opened new possibilities for cultural programming, audience engagement and building a creative community around our space.”
“What I witnessed today at Modern School, Barakhamba Road, was far beyond a conventional theatrical performance. The Roots India portrayed the life of Colonel Sonam Wangchuk with such sincerity and emotional depth that, for a moment, it felt as though he himself stood before us. It was a rare and deeply moving experience, one that reminds us how powerfully theatre can bring stories of courage, patriotism and service to life.”
“What I appreciated most about Imagination Room by The Roots India was the emphasis on the journey rather than just the final performance. Over these two months, I saw my child become more confident, expressive and comfortable exploring new ideas. Watching the children express themselves so naturally during the final reflection showed just how meaningful this experience had been.”
“In Learning & Development, the real measure of any initiative is how people apply it at work. What stood out to me was the shift in our team's confidence, communication and willingness to collaborate. Through performing arts, they learnt to listen better, think on their feet and approach challenges together. I've seen these changes reflected in our everyday interactions, and that's what makes this experience truly valuable.”
“What stood out about The Roots India was their ability to make performing arts a meaningful part of the learning process. Over two months, we saw our students grow in confidence, discipline and expression, culminating in a beautifully conceived three-day musical production. It was a rewarding experience for the entire school community.”