Nisha Madhan has a CV that reads like a potted history of modern New Zealand television: Power Rangers, Filthy Rich, The Brokenwood Mysteries, West Side, Agent Anna, My Life Is Murder.
She broke barriers on Shortland Street as Nurse Shanti, the first Indian character to be a core cast member on the legacy soap, but her groundbreaking roles aren't bound to one medium. The interdisciplinary creative has forged an eclectic arts career encompassing directing, writing and producing credits as well as a spell as programming manager at the Basement Theatre.
Last year the pursuit of continued creative opportunities saw Madhan uprooting herself from her longtime Auckland base to settle in Melbourne, taking a job as the creative producer of the AsiaTOPA festival, the city's major triennial festival of Asia Pacific performance. But she still performs in Aotearoa frequently, and next week she returns to the Civic Theatre for her latest work, Thelma and Louise Don’t Die, a humorous and feminist reimagining of the iconic road movie.
Joining Madhan behind the wheel of the live art dreamscape is her longtime collaborator and fellow anarchic theatre-maker Julia Croft, the former executive director of Auckland Pride.
Running July 4-6, tickets are on sale now for the poetic performance that sees two women "holding hands on the edge of this cliff, while the world crumbles."
When was the last time you cried?
I'm a big cry baby. I cry all the time. I've been known to cry at the end of the movies Sister Act II, Cool Runnings and School of Rock… SCHOOL OF ROCK, while on aeroplanes. I cry everytime I hear the song God Only Knows by The Beach Boys.
Recently I cried because my friend told me a story about having to give her dog away. When I did the Myers Briggs test, my results said I was 99% feeling, 1% thinking, so yeah, I'm a crier!
When was the last time you danced, and what were you dancing to?
My last great boogie was at a concert by Priya Ragu who is a super cool Swedish Indian popstar. My favourite thing was being surrounded by so many gloriously cool, young South Asian women. Something I never experienced in my heyday of clubbing and gigging during my 20s.
I felt so euphoric and grateful that I get to live through this moment where we are making it possible for brown people to enjoy brown spaces on their own terms, through their own eyes, bodies and voices.
What was the last thing you bought and loved?
A friend bought me a 50ml bottle of Curionoir for my 40th birthday and I am HOOKED.
When was the last time you made a big life change?
Last year I moved to Naarm, Melbourne. In my life I have moved from the Middle East, to India, to Aotearoa. My family settled in Tāmaki Makaurau, and while my brother and parents continued moving about, I stayed still in Auckland for nearly 30 years. It's where I learned to be an artist, became an art aunty and discovered what I truly cared about.
I never thought I would leave. But this country has made being an artist so incredibly hard. I felt I didn't have much of a choice but to leave if I wanted to grow as an artist, a curator and a person.
It has been pretty rocky to uproot and I miss my friends and family dearly. I also miss the strong indigenous heartbeat of Aotearoa and hold the precious gifts that Māori have given me (language, world views, philosophies, a way to live in resistance) close to my heart everyday.
But now I am settled in Brunswick and I have a job that I love to do as the creative producer of the AsiaTOPA festival and I absolutely love my life. What a pleasure and privilege to love what I do, where I live and still be able to come home to create work with my bestie!
What was the last thing you made?
I recently taught my niece how to knit, so we made a bright pink blanket for her treasure bunny rabbit so he wouldn't feel cold at night. It was supposed to be a long scarf but we got bored and changed direction!
When was the last time you got really angry and what was it about?
I feel like rage is my default setting at the moment. I rage against Zionism so hard everyday. White supremacy makes my blood boil. I don't know any other way to deal with it than by making art about it.
What’s the last piece of clothing you bought?
I recently visited the label SUK workwear to search for my costume for Thelma and Louise and I spent a ridiculous amount of money. It's a workwear label that makes practical clothes that are genuinely size inclusive and make every body type look and feel fantastic. I can't imagine going back to anything else at this point.
When was the last time you made a new friend?
I've been blessed with making a crew of shiny new friends in Melbourne. There are people over there that took literally seconds to stake a place in my friendship orbit. Being an artist means making friends is easy – you cry, rage and laugh about the same things. You are never short of things to talk about.
What’s the last beauty product you finished?
I've been hooning through HASK's curl jelly ($17). Curly girls, take note!
When’s the last time you got drunk?
Julia and I have a particular mode during festival time and the most recent festival to experience it was RISING in Melbourne. We somehow turn into flâneuse who are part Patsy and Edina from Absolutely Fabulous and Ilana and Abbi from Broad City.
We were drinking bubbles in their art alley takeover, Night Trade, and stumbled across a tiny karaoke bar. We swanned in. She sang Because the Night by Patti Smith and I sang Paper Planes by MIA then promptly left with a mic drop. We are convinced everyone in Melbourne is still talking about us to this day.
What was the last really delicious thing you ate?
I'm so spoiled because from time to time I get to hang out with Sam Low, NZ's reigning Masterchef. The other day Sam came to pick me up for lunch and I tried to convince him to just have a toastie at our work cafe, but that idea to an actual real life Masterchef is sacrilege. So he dragged me kicking and screaming to an insanely beautiful modern Lebanese place called Number 100 on Flinders Lane. Of course the staff knew him, we barely said a word before they started sending out course after course of decadent Lebanese fare. I'll never forget Sam's horrified face at my suggestion of a toastie, and his insistence that "girl, you deserve better!"
The last song you listened to?
When Julia and I work together we love to curate the playlist that accompanies it. At the moment we are stuck on a scene and we can't decide whether the right song for it is These Days by Nico or You're Still the One by Shania Twain. You may think we are very serious with artists like Nico, but we cannot help but love an ironic yet guilty pleasure like Shania.
The last book you finished?
AMMA by Saraid De Silva. Harking back to your first question, I finished it while ugly crying in a patch of sunlight right in the middle of rush hour at Flinders Street Station.
I love this book so much. It's so evocative, so generous, so bitey, and I cannot stop thinking about the characters. A true triumph and I'm kinda mind blown that I get to call this talented human my friend.
The last TV show you watched?
I watched Ripley on Netflix recently because I will watch Andrew Scott literally do anything. Make a show about him taking out the rubbish. I’ll watch it.
The last DM/text you sent?
It was a video of a cute but angry penguin.
Who was it to?
Lara Fischel-Chisholm who is the director of Thelma and Louise Don't Die and has been my mate since we were both at drama school 24 years ago. We've lived through a fair bit together over that time, including the rise of the meme. Now our DMs are exclusively memes. It's our love language.
What’s the last fight you had?
I had a fight with my 4-year-old nephew Ollie over a hot cross bun. He won.
When were you last moved to action?
October 7 2023.
The last time you laughed so much your tummy hurt?
This happens at least five times a day in our rehearsal room. I love my job.
What’s the last drug you took?
A valium, after that karaoke night.
When’s the last time you were home?
Last year I threw a festival in the wake of a cyclone, quit my job, got a new one, decided to move to Melbourne and as a treat to myself, I flew to New Delhi with my parents for two weeks.
I grew up hating my home. Everything around me seemed to teach me that India was an undesirable place to be from, let alone live in. Now, I absolutely love my home and yearn for it all the time. I never sleep so soundly or feel so in tune and kind to my inner child than when I am amongst the chatter of my majestic family and the dust of Delhi streets.
