Core Team

Shaili Sathyu
Shaili Sathyu is the Artistic Director of Gillo Repertory Theatre, an organization that specializes in Theatre for Young Audiences.  As a writer-director her plays include, 'Kyun-KyunLadki' (2011), 'Mister Jeejeebhoy and the Birds' (2013), 'She-He-Shey' (2013), ‘Gu;aabo Aur Parizad’ (2015) and 'Chidiya, Udd!' (2018).
Since 2003, she has conducted theatre workshops for children and teachers across India. Her projects include Rage Productions’ ‘Class Act’, a collaboration with Traverse Theatre (Scotland), where she was the Indian mentor for a playwriting workshop for high school students, and Junoon’s ‘Arts at Play for Schools’, where she was one of the programme designers.
She is a recipient of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the 'Young Turk of Theatre in Mumbai' award from Rage Productions. She has also served as the Honorary Secretary of ASSITEJ India chapter (The International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People) for two years.

Tanya Mahajan
Tanya Mahajan has trained as an architect and has an interest in design, conservation and art. She has been working in the non-profit sector since 2000, with various organisations including INTACH, Mumbai and SEWA, Ahmedebad. She looks after production and stage management at Gillo, apart from administration and outreach & awareness, especially in the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) space. As a Trustee of the Gillo Foundation, she sees her main roles as working towards building a sustainable model for the organisation as well as to establish Gillo on a firm footing for its many years of creative work ahead.

Abir Patwardhan
Abir Patwardhan is a visual artist, primarily a sculptor and he is also keen on theatre and film. He studied Art at the M S University in Baroda, India. Enjoys nature thoroughly and a lot of his work is inspired from it. Other than art and theatre he likes music, cooking, and the outdoors. Abir lives and works in Pune, India. He has a keen interest in TYA and is a founding member of Gillo Theatre Repertory based in Mumbai, India. He has designed several plays for the company since 2010.


Yashoda Joshi
Yashoda Joshi, is an architect by training and has worked with some of the best architects in India, such as Balkrishna Doshi and Christopher Benninger. She is trained in Hindustani vocal music and is involved in various theatre and art projects with playwrights and film makers in Mumbai and Pune. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of Gillo Foundation in Mumbai. Yashoda has experience of working on campus design, residential design, educational institute and interior design projects based in India, France and Bhutan. She is currently an adjunct faculty with Brick School of Architecture, Pune.

Mallika Varma
Mallika Sen Varma is a trustee of Gillo Foundation. With a background in human resource management, hotel management, school administration and customer service, Mallika is deeply inspired by the arts and theatre. The past few years of travelling the country with the Gillo Repertory has strengthened her belief that theatre arts stimulate the mind, creating invaluable insights that can awaken the spirit of wonder in every human being.

As part of Gillo, Malllika has been promoting arts participation in the community, building access to theatre and raising funds. She does this in collaboration with artists and by networking with the local industry, educational institutes, families and parent groups.