About the Project
Set the night before Tenzing Norgay Sherpa made history with Sir Edmund Hillary by becoming the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, this solo play charts his thoughts and fears at the attempt ahead, which is his seventh with the British team. He relives his other attempts, hampered by avalanches and snowfall – until the anxiety and exhaustion transform into the exhilaration of success.
1953: Race for the Summit received its US premiere at the New York Theatre Festival 2021, where Om Raj Raut was nominated for Best Actor and also received a playwriting nomination from the Frigid New York Theatre Festival. In New York, his work has also been seen Off-Broadway, and at the Marian Andersen Theater and BMCC Tribeca Performing Center.
The show is conceived, written, and performed by Om Raj Raut under the direction of Ayusha Sanjel Chhetri.
Nepalese actor and playwright Raut says: ‘I am very excited to bring the show to Fringe. Everybody knows about Mt. Everest but most people are unaware of the two heroes’ journey and the struggles they had to face. My play recalls the night before reaching the summit and Sherpa’s adventures of escaping the life-threatening avalanches, storms, and snowfalls. Overall, It shows how the British team and Nepali Sherpa worked collectively to conquer Mount Everest in 1953. I want to present this collaboration between the British and Nepal and their great achievements to reach the top of the summit. It’s an honour to represent their triumph again to people and appreciates their team effort to be the first successful Mt. Everest expedition.’
With the intention of bringing diverse cultures and intrinsic human truth to a global audience from his varied background, Raut seeks to represent his country through the art of theatre performance.
This show was taken to Edinburgh fringe festival 2023, that gained lots of love giving out all 5 day sold out shows- gathering amazing and rave reviews from the audience and critics.
Production Team
