Arts·Q with Tom Power

This play is an adaptation of the longest poem ever written

Canadian actor Miriam Fernandes joins Q's Tom Power to discuss her new play Mahabharata

In a Q interview, actor Miriam Fernandes tells Tom Power about co-creating Mahabharata

Miriam Fernandes in front of a blank background, with a big smile
A headshot of Miriam Fernandes. (Why Not Theatre)

The longest poem ever written is a 4,000-year-old Sanskrit epic called the "Mahabharata," which clocks in at roughly 1.8 million words.

But the poem's daunting length didn't stop Toronto's Why Not Theatre from adapting it into a large-scale play of the same name. Miriam Fernandes, the co-creator and star of the show, joins Tom Power to tell us exactly what it took to bring this ancient Sanskrit epic to the stage.

The full interview with Miriam Fernandes is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.


Interview with Miriam Fernandes produced by Ben Edwards.