Roysten Abel Biography 
Roysten Abel is a noted theater personality from Palakkad, Kerala associated with Devised theatre. Many of his plays involve folk performers, and he has also directed one film, In Othello (2003). He is married to Assamese actress Mandakini Goswami, and he was his classmate at NSD, Delhi. Currently the couple is settled in Delhi. His production The Kitchen in 2013 had 12 mizhavu drummers from Kerala. The traditional payasam (a dessert) was also cooked on stage and served to audience. Thus Abel is associated with innovative and creative forms of theatric pieces which include many traditional cultural and art forms too.
His childhood days were spent in Palakkad. He schooled at Good Shepherd International School, Ooty, and later joined Christ College, Bangalore to complete graduation in commerce. However he left graduation in middle and moved back to Kerala. He joined School of Drama, Thrissur. He received a scholarship to join NSD, Delhi. So he moved to Delhi before the completion of course in Thrissur. He specialized in direction and completed the course in 1994. He spent one year at England as an apprentice and returned back.
He started Indian Shakespeare Company in 1995, to stage theatric plays of Shakespeare. Othello – a Play in Black and White in 1999 was his maiden project. Since then he is fully active with theatric productions and creating freshness in presentations through his innovative ideas. In 2003 he adapted his maiden play to a feature film titled, Othello. In 2002 he directed his second play, The Spirit of Anna Frank and later The Manganiyar Seduction (2006) which featured over 40 Manganiyar musicians from Rajasthan and the recent - The Kitchen (2013). Apart from India, he has staged his plays in UK, US, Germany, Austria, Australia and many countries.
Published: N/A
Updated: June 19, 2016
