During rehearsals for Dhaba on Devon Avenue, dramaturg Karina Patel (KP) spoke with playwright Madhuri Shekar (MS) about her inspiration for the show, how its resonance has been enriched by a lengthy road to production, and why she loves writing for actors.

KP: What inspired you to write Dhaba on Devon Avenue?

MS: It all started with Chay Yew. When he was the Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theater, Chay wanted to commission a play to honor the city of Chicago for his final season at the theater. We talked about Devon Avenue, the history of South Asian immigration to that neighborhood, and the businesses that were built there. I was intrigued by success stories like the Patel Brothers grocery chain, but found that my heart was drawn to exploring the lives of a smaller family business that was on the verge of closing.

The particular Sindhi family in this play was inspired by a dear friend and her family history. We see the world in such different ways, coming from different parts of the South Asian subcontinent, and I wanted to live in her larger point of view inspired by Sindhi culture and history. She's also an incredible cook who works as a corporate consultant! So there's a lot of her in both of the sisters. 

KP: How has this play changed from the first intended production in 2020, cancelled due to COVID, to the piece we see now? 

MS: Not much at all. There have been specific rewrites to make the story tauter and richer, but much like wine, letting it age on its own has brought with it resonances — about immigration, the right to exist, the death of community businesses — that ring even louder than before.

KP: In what ways do you relate, or not relate, to the characters' experience of being first- and second-generation immigrants to America?

MS: I have such privilege compared to these characters. Starting from where I come from in India — my community never had to directly suffer the consequences of Partition like this family had. My ancestors were not forcibly displaced. We were never refugees. And I thankfully never had to undergo the financial precarity that this working-class family has lived with their whole lives. I have very little in common with these characters — which is so wonderful and underscores the idea that no two immigrant families are the same, even within the South Asian diaspora, which can get flattened in terms of how we are frequently represented in US mainstream media. 

KP: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process as a playwright? What do you love about writing for live performance?

MS: I love writing for actors. I think they're so wonderful. They are such a gift to have as collaborators. Writing for actors keeps me honest. Every line has to pass muster — I have to write with the care and concern for a person who will have to embody this role and say these lines multiple times a week. Writing with that responsibility only elevates my craft. 

KP: You’ve written plays on many different subjects: restaurant workers in Chicago, scientists studying bees, Mughal Empire bodyguards in the 17th century. Are there any commonalities in what you choose to write about?

MS: I love writing about women and their interior lives. And as different as my worlds are, I hope to write stories that are honest but not cynical. I find people fascinating and most people are fundamentally understandable. I do think most of us are trying our best to live with dignity and community connection in the circumstances we find ourselves in. 

KP: What do you like about collaborating with director Chay Yew?

MS: Chay has a Singaporean directness that I adore. He doesn't BS me, ever. I appreciate that so much. It means that when he believes something is working – it's actually working. He cares, deeply, about the story and about the human beings crafting the story together. It's such a gift to work with him. 

Director Chay Yew in rehearsals for Dhaba on Devon Avenue
Photo: Stanton Long

KP: What are some of your favorite foods and recipes, Indian or otherwise?

MS: The Saag-grilled cheese mentioned in the play was improvised on the spot by my aforementioned Sindhi friend a decade ago and I still think about it. I think I have a picture of my husband eating it and it's hilarious. He looks like he's in heaven. My favorite food growing up was the Tamil staple thayir sadam/curd rice with pomegranate which is still my comfort meal.

KP: What do you hope audiences take away from the play?

MS: I hope they leave with their hearts softer and their stomachs rumbling!