It is what it is - A performance by Akhshay Gandhi

If a door is always closed, does it become a wall?

It’s a story about trying. Failing. And trying again. About creating something real in a world that keeps slipping through your fingers, all while wondering.

“It Is What It Is” is a play that’s trying to make sense of itself. A deeply personal journey into the absurdity of being alive—where thoughts become characters, walls speak, time bends, and silence grows louder.

This one-of-a-kind performance blends text, movement, immersive projections, music, and a touch of creative madness to explore what it means to be alive, to make art, and to question everything—including why you just opened the fridge when you weren’t even hungry.

If you’ve ever stared at your coffee as it went cold, come join us.

Let’s embrace the uncertainty.

Because sometimes... it is what it is.

Cast & Crew:

Writer & Director: Akhshay Gandhi

Media & Technology Design: Gaurav Singh Nijjer

Sound & Music Design: Pratyay Raha

Assistant Director & Dramaturg: Shreeda Patel

Production Manager: Prashant Tiwari

Creative Producer: Anita Gandhi

Creatives: Rohit Bhasi (Indigoranges)

Stage Manager: Ajay Kshatriya 

Light Design: Arun D T

A note from director:

This performance began during a phase of deep questioning—what does it really mean to be an artist, and what is art for? I soon realized that these questions weren’t mine alone; many of my friends, even those not in the arts, were struggling with the same thoughts. That realization pushed me to explore the unarticulated, the invisible, the absurd.

While reading Albert Camus’s essays, the character slowly began to emerge. What followed was a 40-minute untitled non-verbal performance—something that felt like a stepping stone toward a larger, fuller work. That journey has now taken more than three years to evolve into the performance we have today.

Along the way, many friends and artists have contributed their time, thoughts, and care. Multiple work-in-progress showings helped shape the piece, and after 11 drafts and the constant support of collaborators, it is finally ready to premiere.

Each element of the performance explores a different dimension of the idea: projections give form to the inner world, sound and music stir emotional memory, and the body and text create the experience of experience itself.

Though it may appear as a solo on stage, many hands, minds, and hearts are playing at once to make this possible. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has been part of this journey.

I dedicate this performance to my teacher at SITI Company (NYC), whose presence, guidance, and inspiration have remained with me throughout.