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{{Short description|Indian playwright}}

{{Cleanup|date=October 2022|reason=Major clean-up of this article is needed to bring it into compliance with the manual of style.|talk="Life as a playwright" section needs to be reformatted}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Shekinah Jacob
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|34|2013|10|25}}
}}
'''Shekinah Jacob''' is an International playwright who has participated in the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe|Edinburgh Fringe]] and collaborated with the [[Royal Court Theatre]].<ref name=":0">{{cite news |date=4 September 2013 |title=Her plays go places |newspaper=The Hindu |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/her-plays-go-places/article5092888.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214112114/https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/her-plays-go-places/article5092888.ece |archive-date=14 December 2013}}</ref>

Her notable works include the plays ''Ali J'', ''The Long Way Home'', and ''Queen of Hearts''. She is also known for her monologue ''We Are Water'', which was presented on [[BBC Radio]]. Jacob runs Open House Productions, a theatre company based in New Zealand and [[Bengaluru]], which has staged over 60 performances of short plays for corporate events, conferences, and various institutions across the world.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

==Early life==
{{BLP sources section|date=November 2023}}
In an interview with ''[[The Hindu]]'', Jacob mentioned that playwriting came naturally to her from a young age. After graduating from [[Women's Christian College, Chennai|Women's Christian College]], she worked at various times as a reporter, [[copywriter]], and [[technical writer]]. Jacob is married and has two children.<ref name=":0" />

=== Education ===
Jacob completed her schooling at [[Ida Scudder School]], a secondary school in [[Vellore]]. She graduated from Women's Christian College, affiliated with the [[University of Madras]], with a master's degree in English Literature. She later pursued a master's degree in Writing for Performance from the [[University of London]] as a Charles Wallace Scholar and subsequently earned a PhD in Theatre from the [[University of Victoria]].

==Career==

Jacob wrote her second full-length script while studying at Women's Christian College. However, she learned the fundamentals of [[playwriting]] during a [[workshop]] conducted by [[Mahesh Dattani]] and later received training from the [[Royal Court Theatre]] in London. Reflecting on her experience in an interview with ''The Hindu'', she said, "I learnt how drama is action. Cause and effect. Your left brain and right brain have to work together."

During her time at Women's Christian College, Jacob was required to write a play without any male actors. She wrote ''Seven for a Secret'', featuring seven female characters. This play earned her an opportunity to participate in a workshop with the Royal Court Theatre in London. The play was performed in [[Chennai]], where it won the awards for Best Script and Best Audience Response.

She participated in a playwriting workshop conducted by Mahesh Dattani, during which she wrote the play ''Only Women''. The play had a rehearsed reading at the [[British Council]].

She also wrote a [[monologue]] titled ''We Are Water'', which was broadcast on [[BBC Radio]] in September 2003.

Her play ''The Long Way Home'' was performed at the National Centre for the Performing Arts ([[National Centre for the Performing Arts (India)|NCPA]]) and Prithvi Theatre in [[Mumbai]], as well as at the [[Government Museum, Chennai|Museum Theatre]] in Chennai.

Her play ''Ali J'' was inspired by a real story. Her brother, a lawyer working with a human rights organisation in Mumbai, told her about a young man who was imprisoned after drugs were planted in his bag. The man spent 10 years in a prison in [[Mauritius]] before being transferred to Mumbai. Around the same time, she was asked to write a [[monologue]] for the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]]. "They originally wanted one on [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], and realising how little [[Indian history]] I knew, I began to read extensively on the subject," she said. After six months of research, she decided to combine the two stories. The play premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it ran for 25 days. It will next open the NCPA Centrestage Festival in Mumbai, after which it will tour across the country.<ref name=":0" />

In an interview with ''[[The Indian Express]]'' on 25 October 2013, Jacob discussed her [[Artistic inspiration|inspirations]], saying, "I read as widely as possible – my favourite playwrights include [[Alan Bennett]] for the brilliant way in which he captures miniature shifts of mood and the textured dynamics of relationships, as well as [[Tom Stoppard]] and [[David Mamet]]. And, of course, the immortal [[Shakespeare]]." According to Jacob, good theatre is like a good democracy—"by the people, of the people, and for the people." She writes plays that she herself would enjoy watching as an audience member. She appreciates plays that are rooted in her own world, believing that theatre should serve as an ongoing dialogue between the [[audience]] and the [[actors]].<ref name=":3">{{cite web |url=http://indulge.newindianexpress.com/one-direction/chennai/culture/1169 |title=One direction | Indulge |publisher=Indulge.newindianexpress.com |accessdate=20 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140928102807/http://indulge.newindianexpress.com/one-direction/chennai/culture/1169 |archive-date=28 September 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Shekinah Jacob founded a theatre group, Open House Productions, which operates on a Robin Hood model. It is funded by corporates and well-wishers, with most of the revenue from ticket sales directed towards local NGOs.

In an interview in 2015, playwright [[Naren Weiss]] told ''[[India-West]]'' that his play ''Censored'' was inspired by the banning of Jacob's ''Ali J'' in multiple cities across India. The play was later filmed as a sketch by the [[Stray Factory]] and went [[Viral video|viral]] in India.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |last1=Waraich |first1=Sonia |title=Playwright Naren Weiss: Exploring Identity Through Universal Stories |url=http://www.indiawest.com/entertainment/global/playwright-naren-weiss-exploring-identity-through-universal-stories/article_5f378f4e-1a8f-11e5-9a0b-af1d14230c6e.html |website=www.indiawest.com |access-date=23 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212004933/http://www.indiawest.com/entertainment/global/playwright-naren-weiss-exploring-identity-through-universal-stories/article_5f378f4e-1a8f-11e5-9a0b-af1d14230c6e.html |archive-date=February 12, 2018 |language=en |date=Jun 24, 2015}}</ref>

<ref>{{cite web |date= August 2013|title=Theatre review: Ali J at Pleasance Courtyard |url=http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/ali-j-pleasance-court-9161 |accessdate=20 August 2014 |publisher=Britishtheatreguide.info}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.asianage.com/arts/indian-element-edinburgh-fringe-227 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926125312/http://www.asianage.com/arts/indian-element-edinburgh-fringe-227 |archive-date=26 September 2018 |access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=22 July 2013 |title=Edinburgh 2013: Our top picks for the Fringe and EIF – Features – 22 Jul 2013 |url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/edinburgh-theatre/news/07-2013/edinburgh-2013-our-top-picks-for-the-fringe-and-ei_31330.html |accessdate=20 August 2014 |publisher=Whatsonstage.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=9 August 2013 |title=Ali J |Edinburgh Fringe 2013 | Fringe Review | Fringe Theatre Reviews |url=http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/5519.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206130041/http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/5519.html |archive-date=6 December 2013 |accessdate=20 August 2014 |publisher=Fringe Review |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ali J, Pleasance Courtyard | the Stage Edinburgh 2013 |url=http://ed.thestage.co.uk/reviews/1693 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203020142/http://ed.thestage.co.uk/reviews/1693 |archivedate=3 December 2013 |accessdate=25 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.nobordersmagazine.com/Articles/alij/alij.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203032709/http://www.nobordersmagazine.com/Articles/alij/alij.html |archive-date=3 December 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web |date=22 August 2013 |title=ED2013 Theatre Review: Ali J (Evam India and Richard Jordan Productions) | ThreeWeeks Edinburgh |url=http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2013-theatre-review-ali-j-evam-india-and-richard-jordan-productions/#sthash.1gL1sQYP.dpuf |accessdate=20 August 2014 |publisher=Threeweeks.co.uk}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Theatre review: Ali J {{!}} WOW247 |url=http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/blog/2013/08/08/theatre-review-ali-j/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227001817/http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com:80/blog/2013/08/08/theatre-review-ali-j |archive-date=2014-02-27 |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=www.edinburgh-festivals.com}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />

==Works==

=== Theatre ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Details
!Notes
|-
|2003
|''We are water''
|Monologue
|
|-
|2012
|''Goeing 747''
|
|
|-
|2012
|''The Long Way Home''
|
|
|-
|2013
|''Ali J''
|25 days at [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe|Edinburgh Fringe]]
|
|-
|
|''Seven For a Secret''
|
|
|-
|
|''Only Women''
|
|
|-
|
|''Queen of Hearts''
|
|
|}
*''Ali J'' – Premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for a three-week run in August 2013 as a Richard Jordan and Evam Entertainment Production.<ref name=":1" />
*''The Long Way Home'' – Produced by Evam Entertainment and directed by [[Karthik Kumar]], with shows at Mumbai, Chennai & Bangalore.
*''We are water'' – This [[monologue]] was broadcast on [[BBC Radio]] in 2003.
*''Seven For a Secret'' – Won the Best Script prize and Best Audience Response prize at an inter-collegiate theatre festival
*''Only Women'' - this had a rehearsed reading in the [[British Council]].
*''Goeing 747'' – A comic re-telling of the Christmas story, performed in 2012

==References==
{{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacob, Shekinah}}
[[Category:Indian women dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Writers from Chennai]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Shekinah Jacob - Revision history

JAY JADABA: Added First Page From Scratch...