Plays written by Malaika Fernandes
MULAQAT
BANJAARA
Synopses:
Mulaqat – As her husband’s return from an international work trip becomes indefinitely delayed, Tanya finds herself pregnant and alone in the U.S. Her mother, Damini, rushes from India to take care of her; then her mother-in-law, Noor, comes from Pakistan. They’re supposed to help, but Damini only speaks Marathi and Noor only speaks Urdu — so it falls on Tanya to mediate in English, all while contending with the uncertain path her life will take once the child is born.
Banjaara – Sabina and Abhinav are on a romantic getaway to India, and everything is perfect. Sabina certainly isn’t mourning the loss of her grandmother who passed away the week prior, and Abhinav definitely isn’t hiding anything from his girlfriend about the circumstances of his prior move to America. So when Abhinav proposes to Sabina in a desperate attempt to find a home together, nothing can go wrong at all.
Bio:
Malaika Fernandes (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based playwright from Mumbai, Phoenix, and a few other places. Her plays include Mulaqat (2025 Beyond The Realm, 2025 INK’D Festival, Jane Chambers Student Playwriting Award, Wesleyan University), Banjaara (Workshop Theatre), and Eyebrows On (Horizon Theatre Young Playwrights Festival). She was a 2024-25 Writing Fellow at The Playwrights Realm. Malaika graduated from Wesleyan University with a BA in Theater and Economics, where she received the Theater Outreach & Community Service Award and the Rachel Henderson Award for Excellence in Theater. She spent a year in Washington, D.C. as an Artistic Producing Apprentice at Studio Theatre and now works in the Casting Office at Manhattan Theatre Club.