Neel Banerjee

I live on Darug land in a colonised country, where my work centres on cultural development, community engagement, education, and training through live performing arts.

I work and collaborate mostly with culturally and linguistically diverse actors, creatives, and audiences to spread theatre within immigrant communities, bring untold stories to the Australian stage through South Asian theatre aesthetics, and use performance as a tool for social awareness and dialogue.

I’m an alumnus of the Diversity Arts Australia’s leadership program Shifting the Balance. In 2024, I was awarded Parramatta Citizen of the Year – Highly Commended for my contribution to arts and culture. I finished my residency offered by BotTala, a performance space in Dhaka, in February 2023. This international opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region helped me continue to work as a conduit to establish South Asian voices in the Australian theatre landscape. While in Dhaka, I was also invited as a guest speaker at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, furthering intercultural dialogue and exchange.

Work just concluded: Partition’s children ABC Radio National documentary based on the 75th year of India’s partition. The program was aired on the 31st of January 2023. A few weeks later ABC followed up this radio documentary with a story.

My most recent work: Acted, directed a short bilingual play co-written with the legendary Pakistani actress Uzma Gillani. titled Baazigar…the trickster

My recent work: A non space specific theatre titled Rich Culture Should Have Rich Relationship

Artistic Director at Nautanki Theatre
I’m the founder and Creative Director of Nautanki Theatre. Nautanki is a professional, diverse, and multi-racial theatre company that has been presenting work in participation with Riverside Theatre in Parramatta since the company’s inception in 2012. With extensive research and experience in Western Sydney, Nautanki Theatre’s affirmative action is to meet the authenticity emphasising the South Asian experience in Australia.