The term spoken word has reached the top of the popularity charts when it comes to labelling a performance. But veteran theatre artiste Sunil Shanbag is quick to disapprove of the form being solely used to define his performance piece Blank Page (contrary to the description that's been used time and again to characterise the piece). "Spoken word has become a popular category altogether. But Blank Page doesn't come from that tradition, where poets read their works. Here, we have theatre artistes, who are interpreting contemporary Indian poetry in four languages using elements of theatre, movement and music. It's like a theatrical production, which has the formality of a theatre piece," says the director.

A 2015 performance of Blank Page at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. Pic Courtesy/Chirodeep Chaudhuri