Born on 24 December 1935 in Delhi, Shrimati Sushma Seth is a versatile actress, teacher of drama, and
children's theatre activist based in the Capital. She received her training in acting, direction, and stagecraft
at the Briarcliff College in New York, and obtained her B.A. from the Carnegie Melon University in
Pittsburgh. There, apart from acting and direction, she learnt costume, make-up, and mime. She has
studied Indian Hindustani vocal music at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Delhi.
Over an eminently successful career on the stage, Shrimati Seth has played lead roles in a number of
outstanding productions since the 1960s. These roles include Gurdafarid in Rustam Sohrab, Rano in Ek
Chadar Maili si, Sen-Te in The Good Woman of Sezuan, Champa in Sakharam Binder, Kate in Taming of the
Shrew, and Raina in Arms and the Man. Her role as Dadi in the television serial Hum Log received enormous
popular acclaim.
A founder-member of Yatrik, one of Delhi's best known theatre groups, she established the Children's
Creative Theatre in 1973. She has also been a member of the faculties of several schools in Delhi including
the Convent of Jesus and Mary, and has imparted training in speech and movement at the Natya
Academy of Delhi Natya Sangh. She has conducted numerous production-oriented theatre workshops
with the children of Arpana, an inter-faith NGO, the Convent of Jesus and Mary, and other schools in
New Delhi and Mumbai. She is the author of Stageplay – a manual on drama to guide theatre aspirants.
Shrimati Seth has been felicitated and honoured with many awards including the Best Actress Award
conferred by Sahitya Kala Parishad, Delhi.
Shrimati Sushma Seth receives the Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Award for her contribution to Indian
theatre as an actress.