Shilpi Marwaha is one of the most well known names in the Delhi Theatre Circuit, having worked as a theatre artist and activist for the past decade. She gained prominence through her activism through street theatre during the "anti corruption movement" in Delhi and the protests held at Rastrapati Bhawan, where she took the forefront in raising her voice against the horrific 2012 Delhi Gang Rape case also known as the "Nirbhaya" or "Damini" case. She has also worked in mainstream cinema in the Bollywood film, Raanjhanaa as Rashmi, Abhay Deol's sister, directed by Anand L. Rai in 2013, Bhoomiyude Avakashikal, directed by T. V. Chandran, "Widow of Silence" as Aasiya directed by Praveen Morchhale in 2018 and "Chhapaak" directed by Meghna Gulzar in 2020. She has been awarded first Sarla Birla Award and AAS Excellence Award 2016 for her active participation in women empowerment initiatives.
Personal life and background
Shilpi lost her mother at the tender age of 8. As a single child, she has fought at every stage of life. Shilpi was born and brought up in Delhi and studied for her Masters in Commerce from Kamla Nehru College, University of Delhi. She was active in campus theatre. She did many street and stage plays in DU.
Acting in Theatre
Marwaha started her career as a theatre actor in Delhi with Asmita Theatre Group. She got trained under theatre director Arvind Gaur. She participated in his theatre workshop in college. Marwaha has worked with Asmita Theatre group for 12 years, and was a core member, coordinating theatre workshops and directing workshop plays. Her major plays are Dario Fo and Franca Rame's A Woman Alone, Bertolt Brecht's Ramkali, Mahesh Dattani's Final Solutions and 30 days in September, Girish Karnad's Rakt Kalyan, Swadesh Deepak's Court Martial, Rajesh Kumar's Ambedkar aur Gandhi, Mohan Rakesh's Lehro ke Rajhans, Ashok Lal's Ek Mamooli Aadmi, Unsuni, Vijay Mishra's “Tat Niranjana“, Dario Fo's adaptation Operation Three Star, based on Accidental death of an anarchist, Govind Purushottam Deshpande's Raastey, Dario Fo's Can't Pay won't Pay and Mahesh Bhatt's The Last Salute, written by Rajesh Kumar. Shilpi has also worked with RJ Raunac on dramatic reading of Asghar Wajahat's stories. Apart from acting, she has penned five stories, namely, "Apratyaksh", a love story of a eunuch, "Kaash", an intercaste love saga, "Purity" on the slut-shaming tendencies of society and "Rangmanch", elucidating the struggles involved in the life of an aspiring actor trying to fulfil his dream and “Asifa” on child abuse. All these stories have been staged for audience in Delhi.“Ehsaas” a solo act written and performed by Shilpi showcases a young girl's struggle to express her love and desire for other women. Shilpi was also a part of the national award-winning documentary film Daughters of Mother India and has worked with oscar award-winning director Ross Kaufman. She won the best actress award in 2010 in the “International short and sweet festival”. She participated in theatre workshops in various colleges in Delhi and outside including Delhi University, IIT and IIM and has judged numbers of events on stage and street plays in different colleges & universities across the nation.
Street Theatre
Shilpi Marwaha performed thousands of street plays in Delhi NCR and other states, based on social issues—like Corruption, Women empowerment, Environment, Road-rage, Anti-Ragging, LGBTQ, Communal harmony, Female foeticide Child education, Mental Health, Gender equality, Domestic violence, Child labour, Poverty, Drugs, Inter-faith etc. Dastak – written and conceptualized by Shilpi herself, is the biggest hit and has been performed over thousand shows across India. Marwaha is also active in Social Awareness movement. She actively participated in women's safety movement to raise voice for domestic workers and in anti-corruption movement etc.
Starting Theatre Group
In the year 2016, Shilpi faced sexual harassment at workplace from the director of theatre group where she worked for 12 years after which she walked out from the group and was joined by other senior actors who decided to leave the group. Shilpi started Sukhmanch Theatre in March 2017 in the memory of her late mother whose name "Sukhvarsha" inspired the name of the group and her endeavor to promote theatrical arts. She is currently working as creative head and director of the group.
