Inherit the Wind

In July 2025, the world will mark a century since the trial that shook the foundations of science, faith, and free thought—the State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, known famously as the “Monkey Trial.” First brought to the Bengaluru stage in 1979 by Jagdish Raja, founder trustee of Jagriti and a pioneer of English-language theatre in the city, this powerful play returns as a rehearsed reading, directed by Jagdish Raja himself, forty-six years after the original production.

Set in the fictional town of Hillsboro, Tennessee, Inherit the Wind follows the arrest and trial of Bertram Cates, a schoolteacher accused of violating state law by teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. What unfolds is a dramatic clash between towering ideologies, faith and reason, tradition and progress, as two legal titans face off in a case that becomes a spectacle of national proportions.

A hundred years on, the themes of Inherit the Wind remain disturbingly relevant. Debates over curriculum, belief, and freedom of thought continue to spark across classrooms, courtrooms, and dinner tables. For scholars of law, history, and theatre and for anyone who has ever questioned, doubted, or dared to think differently, this reading promises to be a gripping and deeply resonant experience

In July 2025, the world will mark a century since the trial that shook the foundations of science, faith, and free thought—the State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, known famously as the “Monkey Trial.” First brought to the Bengaluru stage in 1979 by Jagdish Raja, founder trustee of Jagriti and a pioneer of English-language theatre in the city, this powerful play returns as a rehearsed reading, directed by Jagdish Raja himself, forty-six years after the original production.

Set in the fictional town of Hillsboro, Tennessee, Inherit the Wind follows the arrest and trial of Bertram Cates, a schoolteacher accused of violating state law by teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. What unfolds is a dramatic clash between towering ideologies, faith and reason, tradition and progress, as two legal titans face off in a case that becomes a spectacle of national proportions.

A hundred years on, the themes of Inherit the Wind remain disturbingly relevant. Debates over curriculum, belief, and freedom of thought continue to spark across classrooms, courtrooms, and dinner tables. For scholars of law, history, and theatre and for anyone who has ever questioned, doubted, or dared to think differently, this reading promises to be a gripping and deeply resonant experience

In July 2025, the world will mark a century since the trial that shook the foundations of science, faith, and free thought—the State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, known famously as the “Monkey Trial.” First brought to the Bengaluru stage in 1979 by Jagdish Raja, founder trustee of Jagriti and a pioneer of English-language theatre in the city, this powerful play returns as a rehearsed reading, directed by Jagdish Raja himself, forty-six years after the original production.

Set in the fictional town of Hillsboro, Tennessee, Inherit the Wind follows the arrest and trial of Bertram Cates, a schoolteacher accused of violating state law by teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. What unfolds is a dramatic clash between towering ideologies, faith and reason, tradition and progress, as two legal titans face off in a case that becomes a spectacle of national proportions.

A hundred years on, the themes of Inherit the Wind remain disturbingly relevant. Debates over curriculum, belief, and freedom of thought continue to spark across classrooms, courtrooms, and dinner tables. For scholars of law, history, and theatre and for anyone who has ever questioned, doubted, or dared to think differently, this reading promises to be a gripping and deeply resonant experience