(NEW YORK, NY) -- Joe’s Pub presents Sunny Jain’s Love Force, a new theatrical piece in development and inspired by Mohandas Gandhi’s concept of satyagraha, on Saturday, January 14 at 9:30pm. Part of New York Voices, the artist commissioning program at Joe’s Pub, this show will be an intimate evening centering on the Punjabi dhol drum, blurring the lines of performer and audience in order to create a collective effervescence. Drawing from cultural tradition and rituals, the performance highlights the inequities of current social structures.

Coined by Gandhi in the early 1900s, truth (satya) and firmness (agraha) are acts of nonviolent resistance. Also referred to as truth force, love force, and soul force (as used by Martin Luther King, Jr.), this theory envelopes the oppressor with compassion. Jain is known for his work as a drummer, music director, and bandleader of the beloved band Red Baraat. This show sees Jain striking out into the theater world with intention, as he weaves together storytelling, sonic journeys, and the ethos of Jainism, Leo Tolstoy, B.R. Ambedkar, Martin Luther King, Jr, Audre Lorde, and Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II.  While bringing into conversation faith and human compassion, Jain draws parallels between the Indian caste system and the hierarchies of America.

This performance will feature Jain (dhol, drums), Paula Winter (percussion), David Adewumi (trumpet), Kalun Leung (trombone), Shoko Nagai (keyboard, accordion), and Almog Sharvit (bass).

Tickets are on sale now here.

Love Force is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Love Force is funded in part by the MAP Fund and their funding partners, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, along with the Howard Gilman Foundation.

New York Voices is Joe’s Pub at The Public’s artist commissioning program. As part of The Public Theater’s long history of cultivating the country’s most celebrated artists, this program supports the creation of new works by critically-acclaimed musicians and performers. New York Voices encourages artists to explore their storytelling, narratives, and songwriting processes and includes a variety of developmental and practical resources. Each commission culminates with a run of live shows on the Joe’s Pub stage. The program successfully connects artists with their contemporaries and significantly expands their abilities to reach wider audiences. Many of the commissioned works have toured nationally and internationally. The 2022/2023 commissions are by Bahia Watson & Liza Paul, Chris Pattishall & Vuyo Sotashe, Daniel J. Watts & Nick Blaemire, Sunny Jain, and treya lam.

New York Voices is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

JOE’S PUB, a program of The Public Theater, was named for Public Theater founder Joseph Papp. Since it opened in 1998, Joe’s Pub has played a vital role in The Public's mission of supporting artists at all stages of their careers with an intimate space to perform and develop new work. Joe's Pub presents the best in live music and performance nightly, continuing its commitment to diversity, production values, community, and artistic freedom. In addition to one-night-only concerts and multi-night engagements, Joe’s Pub is home to the annual Habibi Festival, which hosts artists representing contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (Southwest Asia/North Africa) region, and The Vanguard Award & Residency, a yearlong curation series that celebrates the career, and community, of a prolific and influential artist, including Nona Hendryx, Judy Collins, Laurie Anderson, and Barbara Maier Gustern.

With its intimate atmosphere and superior acoustics, Joe's Pub presents over 700 shows featuring artists from all over the world and hosts over 100,000 audience members annually. Beyond public performances, Joe’s Pub also leads artist development programs like New York Voices, a commissioning program that helps musicians develop new performance projects, and Joe’s Pub Working Group, an artist-led development and collaboration cohort. Current commissioned artists include Daniel J. Watts & Nick Blaemire, Liza Paul & Bahia Watson, Sunny Jain, Vuyo Sotashe & Chris Pattishall, and treya lam. Joe's Pub is supported in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.