spotlight HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS

Sem Mann, an immersive theatre production featuring over 100 participants, is about resilience, love, and cultural preservation

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Ghirija jayarraj is an artiste, dancer, and storyteller based in australia, whose work bridges the realms of classical dance, theatre, and film. a trained Bharatanatyam dancer with a rich heritage of Tamil culture, Ghirija’s journey is one of constant exploration—both of herself and of the world she inhabits. having grown up in the diaspora, she has always sought ways to connect her heritage to the wider world, infusing her art with a deep sense of identity, history, and healing. With Sem Mann, an immersive theatre production featuring over 100 participants from australia, india, Canada, Germany, sri Lanka, Us, and France, Ghirija has crafted not just a performance, but a profound statement of resilience, love, and cultural preservation. Through her work, she explores the struggles of displacement, the power of art as resistance, and the essential role of community in forging identity in times of crisis.

Ghirija shares with us her story of displacement and how Sem Mann was born through those experiences.

A journey of self-discovery

Sem Mann is a journey of self-discovery, an exploration of heritage, and a powerful commentary on the fight for cultural preservation. The story centres on Kalavani Gunasekaran, a Canadian Tamil dancer, who is deeply committed to her art form, not only as a personal pursuit but as a way of honouring and sharing the rich history of Tamil culture and language. set against the backdrop of 1988-89, the narrative follows Kala’s time in Madras, where she immerses herself in the study of