Arts·Q with Tom Power

This play is an adaptation of the longest poem ever written

Canadian theatre maker Miriam Fernandes joins Q's Tom Power to discuss her play Mahabharata, which is an adaptation a 4,000-year-old Sanskrit epic.

Mahabharata is an adaptation of a 4,000-year-old Sanskrit epic

Miriam Fernandes standing in front of a dark orange wall, looking out into the distance
Miriam Fernandes as the Storyteller in Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata. (David Cooper/Shaw Festival)

The longest poem ever written is a 4,000-year-old Sanskrit epic called the Mahabharata, which clocks in at roughly 1.8 million words. But the poem's daunting length didn't stop Toronto's Why Not Theatre from adapting it into a large-scale play of the same name. Miriam Fernandes, the co-creator and star of the show, joins Tom Power to tell us exactly what it took to bring this ancient Sanskrit epic to the stage.

The cast of Mahabharata in front of a black curtain, looking upwards in shock
The cast of Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata. (David Cooper/Shaw Festival)

The full interview with Miriam Fernandes is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.


Interview with Miriam Fernandes produced by Ben Edwards.