Ivan Sylvester Rodrigues

In Theatre

It was in his final year in Sydenham College, where he won the awards for Best Play, Best Director and Best Actor for the play The Chairs written by Eugène Ionesco at the prestigious Dr. S. K. Muranjan intra-college competition in 1989. It was at this competition that Mr. Dandavate, who was the then Chairman of the NCPA, invited Ivan to stage THE CHAIRS at the Little Theatre, NCPA. The play received rave reviews in the press and here are some of them.

"A difficult play to tackle even for professionals, much more so for students, Ivan Rodrigues who also directs, did well to keep the pace brisk and the action taut. So convincing was their portryal of old age that for a moment it was a jolt to see them smiling and straightbacked offstage". - Meher Pestonji, Sunday Mid-Day, 2 April 1989.

"Only a brave person would have anything to do with THE CHAIRS. Over two decades ago Vijaya Mehta presented it and now Ivan Rodrigues has brought it back. He chose the play because he found it difficult to understand at the first reading. Many rehearsals later he has put up a commendable effort. Both the actors retain the arthritic image from start to finish, drawing the viewer into the vortex of their grey life". - Teresa Viju James, The Indian Post, 29 Mar 1989.

"THE CHAIRS is a play which extracts that bit of extra energy and talent from the actor. Its success depends a great deal on this aspect. In Ivan Rodrigues and Nilufer Charna, Bombay theatre has discovered two young talented actors with great potential. Both Ivan and Nilufer excelled, their voices and facial expressions picking up the cues from where the other had left, to give us phases of poetry in theatre. It only goes to prove that nothing can replace genuine talent". - Suma Josson, The Sunday Observer, 2 to 8 April 1989.

Since then Ivan has acted in several professional productions and has performed at venues all over India. Some of these include:

The Fantasticks, a musical play (music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones) directed by Janak Toprani and Nandu Bhende, Krapp's Last Tape (Samuel Beckett) directed by Ramu Ramanathan, IN THE MATTER OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER (Hinar Kipphart) directed by Janak Toprani, THE PUBLIC EYE (Peter Shaffer) directed by Janak Toprani, FINAL SOLUTIONS, written and directed by Mahesh Dattani, Animal Farm (George Orwell), a musical play directed by Arundhati Raja, HOLY RIVER (an Indo-British production), directed by Etienne Coutinho and THE BIG FAT CITY,^[1] written and directed by Mahesh Dattani. He has also written AGP World's THE SCENT OF A MAN.^[2][3][4]

He has also worked with young directors on experimental plays - like Rahul Valmiki in THE DATE(D) and Megha Burman in DO YOU, I DO.^[5]

Over the years, his acting has been much appreciated by audiences and critics alike. Here are some excerpts from the press.

"Apart from the adaptation, the high point of the production is the sound effects, both on and off the stage. Offstage you hear a bottle corking, liquid poured, the clink of crockery and the wheezing of a man in a hurry to get his drink. Ivan Rodrigues makes an excellent elder Krapp with shuffling feet, sharp bark like cries and semi-silent chuckles, enslaved to the clanging alarm clock slung around his neck". Review of KRAPP'S LAST TAPE by Meher Pestonji in the MID-DAY dated 4 August 1989.

"The highlight of the evening was Ivan Rodrigues' remarkable performance as the old Krapp. Slow and deliberate, never letting his concentration slip, perfectly in character whether excited or vacant, he breathes life into the play". - Review of KRAPP's LAST TAPE by Kamala Ramchandani in The Indian Post dated 22 November 1989.

"Krapp played by Ivan Rodrigues touches the heart. The director does not see him as a comical figure but a futuristic one; spools of tape hanging out of the innards of his tape deck, the floor strewn with debris, the lights low in this each-man-for-himself world. Rodrigues has all the decrepitude of Krapp, shuffling and enfeebled, body racked by paroxysms of pain brought on by recalling the past, yet not without an ability to laugh manically at himself". Review of KRAPP'S LAST TAPE by Nandini Bhaskaran in The Independent dated 17 November 1989.

In Film

Since 2013, he has acted in the following Bollywood films:^[6] Satyagraha directed by Prakash Jha, Shamitabh directed by R. Balki, Dil Dhadakne Do directed by Zoya Akhtar, Sultan & Tiger Zinda Hai directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, Dear Zindagi directed by Gauri Shinde, Commando 2 directed by Deven Bhojani, MOM directed by Ravi Udyawar, Jagga Jasoos directed by Anurag Basu, Hichki directed by Sidharth P. Malhotra, Love Per Square Foot directed by Anand Tiwari, Bioscopewala directed by Deb Medhekar and GOLD directed by Reema Kagti.

In Television

He acted in the Rajya Sabha TV mini-series Samvidhaan - The Making of The Indian Constitution, directed by Shyam Benegal. He has recently shot for The Good Karma Hospital - Season 2 directed by Alex Winckler, a UK TV Series produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for ITV. He has also featured in 100+ TV Commercials.

In Voice

Ivan is a professional voice over artist and has lent his voice to many TVCs, Corporate AVs and Videos.

Compere

Ivan's background as a senior management professional and consequent experience across industry sectors and business verticals helps bring to the table a keen insight into the pulse of the audience and the profiled speakers and dignataries. He has deep respect for the theme of the event, summit or conference and this along with his ability to keep proceedings on track and to time with a unique blend of information and humour has made him the preferred MC of choice for organizations such as Times Conferences (ET Edge), Dun & Bradstreet, Bloomberg, UBM & EC Council.

Speech & Drama Workshops

Ivan regularly conducts speech and drama workshops for school children and corporates.

Films / TV Series / Web Series Awaiting Release – Post Production / Shooting For