Maya: The Musical started from an existential question — "When the world is falling apart, what responsibility do I have? Why am I, as a writer, out here writing my little musicals?"

Every year that we have continued to develop Maya, the question is constantly relevant, and in conversation with our changing world. If we do not reflect on our past and learn from history, we are bound to constantly repeat our failures.

As someone who adamantly champions stories at the intersection of being Asian, being queer, and being an immigrant, Maya examines each of these lenses in an obtuse way.

South Asian culture is not where I come from, but the intersections between East Asian culture and South Asian culture and plentiful. None of the characters in Maya: The Musical are queer, but the universal experience of being the other is always present. Maya, our protagonist, is an immigrant from India, living in the Western world of London, and grappling with where she fits in that world is where we begin our story.

Buddhism and Hinduism share many roots. The concept of Māyā comes from Hinduism, that everything we see and touch is just an illusion. Buddhism preaches "空即是空", which loosely translates to "Appearance is only absence; absence is only appearance", a similar philosophical teaching that everything is only as important as what we imbue them. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, and we are constantly in a renewed cycle of energy, and our responsibility is to each other and the world.

I believe that Maya: The Musical is a philosophical exploration of this concept, but beyond that, it lives at the timeless intersection of Art and Commerce. It is equally entertaining as it is philosophical and the world deserves to experience this theatrical event.