Dubai: From sitting quietly in the audience at Dubai’s now-closed DUCTAC at the Mall of the Emirates to performing Off-Broadway in New York City, Anuka Sethi’s journey traces a deliberate and unlikely arc.
Her earliest memories of performance are rooted in Dubai. She watched school productions take the stage at DUCTAC, unsure whether she would ever belong there. The turning point came unexpectedly at eight years old, when a teacher cast her as Mrs. Claus in a school Christmas concert. What began as a nudge outside her comfort zone quickly became a boost in confidence.
By 15, she made a choice that defied convention: she would pursue acting seriously. In her mind, success pointed to one place: New York University Tisch School of the Arts. She applied, earned acceptance, and completed four years of rigorous training, even as she worked through lingering doubts from her earlier school theatre experiences.
From JESS to Tisch
Anuka studied at Jumeirah English Speaking School, Arabian Ranches. However, she never landed lead roles in school productions, nor did she grow up as the obvious star. Instead, that lack of early validation strengthened her discipline and sharpened her focus.
At the same time, her drama teachers at JESS played a decisive role in sustaining her ambition. They nurtured curiosity over applause and encouraged craft over attention. As a result
A Stage That Mirrors Her World
Now based in New York City, Anuka actively performs across theatre, film, and television. Most recently, she appeared in an adaptation of The Thousand and One Nights at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, a historic Off-Broadway venue known for politically engaged productions.
Notably, the show blended Arabic, Hindi, Spanish, Farsi, and English, and sold out all eight performances. The production explored themes of resistance, cultural survival, and post-colonial identity, mirroring the multilingual and multicultural upbringing she experienced in Dubai.
At the same time, she draws a clear connection between Dubai and New York. She sees both cities as cultural crossroads that normalize difference rather than isolate it. That early exposure, she argues, prepared her for global work more effectively than any single technique class.
While Dubai may not offer Broadway-scale infrastructure, it offers something equally important: community theatre. In her view, community lays the foundation, it builds instinct before ambition.
Rejecting the “Token” Frame
One of the industry’s most persistent pressures is reduction. Casting decisions often confine South Asian actors to predefined identity roles.
However, Anuka actively resists that framing. She acknowledges the visibility created by global figures such as Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Mindy Kaling, noting that their success expands opportunity. At the same time, she argues that representation must go beyond optics. The goal, she insists, is narrative range, not symbolic inclusion.
That belief shapes her project choices. In her recent short film, The Beasts We Carry, she explores racism through horror. Notably, the role was originally written for a male character. After her audition, the team revised the script, adapting the part to performance strength rather than demographic expectation.
Discipline Over Drama
Her method is practical and disciplined. She auditions consistently, treats rejection as routine, and increases volume to improve probability.
Today, she serves as an Artist in Residence at Live & In Color and develops new work with Clubbed Thumb, balancing independent theatre with screen opportunities.
Throughout, the through-line remains clear: a Dubai classroom, a New York stage, cultural fluency as an advantage, support as infrastructure, and risk as a necessity.
Anuka Sethi’s journey is not accidental. She has built it, step by step.
Photo: Anuka Sethi in The Thousand and One Nights
Source: Gulf News
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