The Harvest of Broken Promises

Pankaj Tiwari

performance

How do we remember the land once it stops feeding us? Can theatre capture the smell of soil, the ache of labour, or the true weight of a harvest?

At the heart of The Harvest of Broken Promises is a simple yet urgent image: a piece of land that no longer remembers how to sustain itself. Born into a farming family, theatre-maker Pankaj Tiwari revisits his memories of the traditional, sustainable agricultural practices of his youth, and reflects on their gradual disappearance over the past three decades. Since moving to Europe in 2019, Tiwari has observed local farming practices first-hand. Despite being on a different continent, he sees similar struggles, albeit marked by a distinct gap in time.

In The Harvest of Broken Promises, Tiwari interweaves video footage, interviews, visual art, and folk tales. By blending his own history with the stories of farmers from across India and Europe, his play captures the profound tension between aspiration and survival. Tiwari’s narrative serves as a mirror for a generation caught between the glittering promises of progress, and the steady loss of ancestral knowledge.

• Pankaj Tiwari is a contemporary artist, theatre maker, writer and curator from Balrampur, India. He is currently based in Amsterdam and holds a master's degree in theatre from DAS Theatre Amsterdam. His works bring Eastern perspectives to the Western discourse on socio-political issues. Pankaj is also the winner of the 3Package Deal award (2021-22) from the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts. Between 2020 and 2023, he worked as a curator for Gessnerallee Zurich. He is now the artistic director of Stichting Studio Current in Amsterdam. Both today and in the past, Pankaj's work has been invited and supported by several festivals and production houses. These include Steirischer Herbst Graz (2025), MC93 Bobigny (2025), Theater Rotterdam (2025), Kaaitheater Brussels (2024), DE SINGEL Antwerp (2023, 2024), Grand Theatre Groningen (2020, 2023, 2024). In 2024 Pankaj Tiwari previously appeared at the Kaaitheater in the production PaperPlanes, alongside Nick Verstand.

• Prabhash Chandra is a film director, born and raised in Bihar, India. He holds a postgraduate degree from the Department of Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Delhi. He has been active in the film and theatre world for ten years, working on various projects while also conducting workshops and teaching. His first feature film, I'm Not The River Jhelum (Be Ches Ne Veth, 2022), was praised by critics. Alaav is his latest work.

• Maria Dogahe is a Belgian-Iranian curator, dramaturg and activist based in Brussels. She currently works as a performing arts programmer at Kaaitheater (Brussels). She is known for her work in art and activism, with a strong presence in Brussels. Maria is part of the Caddy for Palestine collective.

• Nazanin Yalda is an Iranian musician and composer living in Brussels. In her solo work with the setār – an Iranian string instrument – she uses electronic sound modifications to expand its acoustic range, resulting in neoclassical ambient soundscapes that evoke a dreamy sense of melancholy. This is one of the ways in which Nazanin explores how diverse worlds and traditions can merge to create something new, or coexist in a way that is mutually enriching.

concept, creation & text Pankaj Tiwari | performance Pankaj Tiwari | music Nazanin Yelda | video, sound & interviews Prabhash Chandra | dramaturgy text Maria Dogahe | outside eye Pol Heyvaert | production CAMPO | co-production Internationales Sommer Festival Kampnagel (Hamburg), Theaterfestival Boulevard (‘s-Hertogenbosch) & Kaaitheater (Brussel) | supported by taxshelter van de Belgische Federale Overheid via uFund