Dear Drama lover,
As October brings with it floods across the country, so does it herald the 'festival' season for Bombay theatre. The Nehru festival kicks off this week, to be followed next month by the Prithvi Theatre Fest and then Thespo in December.
In premiere's this month, Yatri present 'Baap Re Baap & Gaaj Foot Inch' at the Prithvi and Sathaye College Auditorium and AKvarious mark Akash Khurana's return to direction with All About My Mother. In other news, Poor Box are celebrating their tenth year with shows of Art, The Vagina Monologues and Shirley Valentine.
On the QTP front, we are choco-o-block in October. After opening our play to a rapturous applause, we present more shows of our brand new play Some Girl(s). Also Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace is back after 2 years. Project S.T.R.I.P. has been invited for the Ranga Shankara festival in November. Also this month, yours truly and Amruta Sant are off to different corners of the country to select the plays that will be a part of Thespo 11. Also this month, Thespo at Prithvi presents 2 Marathi plays from Thespo past with Baby and Dalan being showcased.
Here's what we are carrying in this month's edition of The Script.
Click on any of them or navigate your way through the links on the right.
Trivia Time: Two contrasting looks at what makes up theatre.
Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace: Back After 2 years.
QTP's New Play: All the details on Some Girl(s).
Thespo at Prithvi: Workshops and Plays in October.
Thespo 11: How you can get involved in India's most exciting theatre festival.
Great Texts: What are we going to read next month?
Point of View: Avinash D'Souza reviews QTP's 'Some Girl(s).
4 Corners: Dolly Thakore shares her experience on her trip to Bangalore.
AK's Various Thoughts: Travel plans, Kashmir Kashmir, Some Girl(s) and more thoughts from Akarsh's brain.
Up & Coming: Complete schedule of what to catch in September.
Great Stuff: Workshops, etc
Curtain Call: Arthur Gingold on working in theatre.
Thank You,
Yours Sincerely,
On Behalf of Q Theatre Productions,
Himanshu.
Editor, The Script.
Trivia Time
Theatre By Numbers
According to Aristotle's there are six elements necessary for theatre:
Plot, Character, Idea, Language, Music, and Spectacle.
Plot, Character, Idea, Language, Music, and Spectacle.
The 17th century Spanish writer Lope de Vega wrote that for theatre one needs
"three boards, two actors, and one passion".
According to modern master Peter Brook, all you need for theatre to occur is:
Two - One performer and one audience.
Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace - Back after 2 years.
Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace
13 & 14 October. 9pm. Prithvi Theatre
After two years away, Jayati Bhatia dons the green saree to reprise her unforgettable role as the orphan girl who grows to become the matriarch of one of the more powerful families in newly Independent India. The play about love, family, responsibility and the strength of a woman who 'wraps the family in the web of her providing' has been directed by Q. Here is what the press has had to say:
“The show started and what a show! One actress, Jayati Bhatia, a show stealer of the silver screen, kept the whole hall enraptured with her movements and dialogues. My heart went out to her. I wished so hard that I too could some day act like her. For one hour and fifteen minutes, we were mesmerized by Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace, a Q Theatre Production. And after the show, we all stood there and applauded for a whole 5 minutes, while Jayati just smiled back at us thanking us profusely with folded hands.” – The Assam Tribune
“Portrayed brilliantly…deserves applause” – NGAGE, Mumbai.
“Brilliantly layered…wonderful portrayal”– West Side Plus, Mumbai.
“Vivacious…Skillful…Innovative…Stimulating…Successful” – Time Out Mumbai.
“One of the most memorable acts in recent times…standing ovation…brilliant performance..” – The New Indian Express, Bangalore.
Our show dates are:
13th and 14th of October at 9pm
at the Prithvi Theatre
For more information, call 26392688 or email us on qtheatreproductions@gmail.com
To book tickets call 39895050 or www.bookmyshow.com
Some Girl(s) - QTP's New Play
SOME GIRL(S)
Our brand new play 'Some Girl(s)' opened on the 26th and 27th of September at the NCPA Experimental to an overwhelming response. Thank you everyone who packed into the theatre despite the India-Pak cricket match. Prithvi Theatre
15th & 16th October, 9pm
15th & 16th October, 9pm
17th & 18th October, 7pm & 9:30pm
The show has received some great publicity, and Malini even posted some stuff up on her blog. Check out the sneak preview of the show on http://www.missmalini.com/2009/09/27/some-girls-and-a-guy-you-love-to-hate/
Some Girl(s) is a sideways look at the typical, somewhat lost young man of today. A man, on the verge of getting married, sets off on a journey across India to meet his ex-girlfriends as a sort of penance. To bring closure to relationships he might have ruined. Is he just visiting ex girlfriends?
Or is he looking for the one that got away? Or is there more than meets the eye?
Or is he looking for the one that got away? Or is there more than meets the eye?
It is the ultimate date play. Ideally suited for couples who went to spend a fun romantic evening out, nodding along with the truths and laughing at the silliness of their other halves. In fact this week it would make the ideal Diwali Date play!
Written by Neil LaBute.
Adapted by Akarsh Khurana.
Directed by Nadir Khan.
The Cast: Mukul Chadda, Shivani Tanksale, Juhi Pande, Radhika Mital, Tarana Raja Kapoor.
The Cast: Mukul Chadda, Shivani Tanksale, Juhi Pande, Radhika Mital, Tarana Raja Kapoor.
Join them on this humorous ride of soul searching, name calling and apologies.
For more details call 26392688 or email: qtheatreproductions@gmail.com
To book tickets call on 39895050 or log on to: http://www.bookmyshow.com/
To book tickets call on 39895050 or log on to: http://www.bookmyshow.com/
Our show dates are:
15th and 16th October at 9pm and
17th and 18th October at 7 & 9:30pm
at Prithvi Theatre
Thespo at Prithvi - Plays and Workshops
Thespo at Prithvi was started in 2007 to provide a more regular showcasing of the best youth theatre talent in the country. Thus every first Tuesday and Wednesday each month, the next generation of theatre wallahs stride across the hallowed Prithvi stage.
Thespo at Prithvi is also providing an opportunity for young theatre groups to showcase their short plays, as a pre show appetizer before the main show on each Thespo at Prithvi show day. If you have a play that you think can work in the outdoor areas of Prithvi Theatre, email us at thespo@gmail.com
Thespo at Prithvi in October
6th & 7th October
6th & 7th October
6th October, Tuesday:
2pm - Workshop: Improvisational Theatre with Adam Dow
Adam Dow has spent 12 years of working as a theatre professional in the United States. Now he brings his skills to teach young actors how to perform spontaneously using improvisation acting techniques based on cues/suggestions from the audience. The workshop will cover the important skills of teamwork, listening, character development, spontaneity, and storytelling. Improvised comedy forms the basis for popular American shows such as Saturday Night Live and Whose Line is it Anyway? On his first workshop in India, Adam said, “I am excited to be running this workshop with the Thespo group and I believe this workshop will be a lot of fun.”
6 & 9pm - Play: Baby (Marathi) is Vijay Tendulkar’s hard hitting story about abuse and degradation. The play is about a woman and her fight to struggle out of circumstances where she is literally treated like a ‘dog’. Preeti Rajwade’s Baby won her the Outstanding Actress Award at Thespo 8. The play returns to Prithvi for one day only, on Tuesday, October 6th at 6 pm and 9pm.Adam Dow has spent 12 years of working as a theatre professional in the United States. Now he brings his skills to teach young actors how to perform spontaneously using improvisation acting techniques based on cues/suggestions from the audience. The workshop will cover the important skills of teamwork, listening, character development, spontaneity, and storytelling. Improvised comedy forms the basis for popular American shows such as Saturday Night Live and Whose Line is it Anyway? On his first workshop in India, Adam said, “I am excited to be running this workshop with the Thespo group and I believe this workshop will be a lot of fun.”
Produced by: Utopian Communications
Directed by Pritesh Sodha aka Utopian
Cast: Preeti Rajwade, Prasad Modak, Mandar Chaphekar and Pritesh Sodha.
7th October, Wednesday
3pm - Workshop: Physical Theatre Workshop by Faezah Jalali.
A movement workshop focusing on the laban technique. Laban is a system and language for understanding, observing, describing and notating all forms of movement. Its function is to preserve dance movements, just as music notation preserves the order of the notes and other musical elements. The workshop will be conducted by Faezeh Jalali one of Bombay’s best known and most physical performers. She was recently seen in Tim Supple’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dial 1888-India and Judith.
6 & 9pm - Play: Dalan (Marathi) is a hilarious comedy set in a small village in Maharashtra. A tyrannical school master arrives at his new posting and has to reckon with the antics of a lively bunch of school children. To make matters worse, the school master finds he is irresistibly attracted to the mother of one of the students. Adapted from a short story by D.M. Mirasdar, this is a wicked roller-coaster of a play that promises to be a laugh riot. At last year’s Thespo, Dalan won a slew of awards for Male Actor, New Writing and Outstanding Play.
Produced by Natak Company, Pune.
Directed by Nipun Dharmadhikari
Cast: Amey Wagh, Aalok Rajwade, Depti Bawiskar, Amruta Bhagwat, Saurabh Daftardar, Amol Gokhale.
Please Note:
Workshops – Prithvi House. Entry Free. Limited Seats!!! To register contact 9833956091, thespo@gmail.com
Plays – Prithvi Theatre. Tickets rates for plays: Rs 80/- only·
Schedule subject to change.
THESPO 11 - Stage a play and much more!!
The first baby steps to the curation of Thespo 11 has begun. Himanshu Sitlani and Amruta Sant have embarked on the Thespo Screening pilgrimage to scour the country for the best plays that India's youth has to offer. Their travels will take them to Pune, Bangalore, Kodaikanal, Bombay, Kanpur, Delhi and even Pilani. By the time we feature in the next edition of The Script, the plays that will perform at Thespo 11 would have been decided. All those who are trying out, all the best.
To those who missed out, you can still be part of Thespo 11. You can get involved in any of the following activities:
To those who missed out, you can still be part of Thespo 11. You can get involved in any of the following activities:
PLATFORM PERFORMANCES Perform short pieces of around 20mins.
FILM MAKING Learn how to make a documentary on any aspect of theatre.
POSTER DESIGN Design posters for the short listed plays of Thespo 11.
WORKSHOPS On different disciplines of theatre. Conducted by the best in the field. Both during the festival and in the lead up.
LIVE BANDS Bands will be given an opportunity to perform a half hour acoustic set. Performances in any genre - rock, jazz, fusion, Indian classical, etc. are welcome.
MAGAZINE Contribute to the festival mouthpiece with an interesting story or feature about the theatre.
TEAM THESPO Get involved in event management, marketing & PR, promotions, graphic design, etc.
For further details, call: 26392688 / 9819024757 Or Email: thespo@gmail.com
Great Text Reading - Come read a play with us!
Great Texts
26th of October at 7:30pm 7 Bungalows
On the last Monday of every month people meet in Q's drawing room to read a play they may have heard of but not necessarily have read. Writer's come to see how the greats wrote, actors come to play multiple parts and theatre lovers come because it keeps them in touch with the art form. It is open all and everyone takes turns in playing characters from the play. Discussions ensue after over tea and biscuits. 26th of October at 7:30pm 7 Bungalows
What if four children had been kept locked away in darkness and complete isolation since birth? What if tonight, they were to be released? How would bodies and minds reared in darkness respond to the first words, the first lies, the first kisses? What if you got to watch?
We will be reading it on the 26th of October at 7:30pm at 18 Anukool, Sq. Ldr. Harminder Singh Marg, 7 Bungalows. Next to Daljit Gym. All are welcome. If you need directions call Quasar on 26392688 or 9821087261.
4 Corners - A Visit to Bangalore
BANGALORE REVISITED
My four days in Bangalore confirmed that Bangalore remains the most cultured city I know. A sponsored show of Vagina Monologues for the International Tourism Seminar proved yet again that there is no divide between emotions between class, caste, colour, creed. We have always been mobbed by men and women commending us for our ‘courage and bravery’ for bringing a piece like that to the public….not to mention the eulogies about the talent of the women participating.
So Bangalore began on a personal high, and continued in that euphoric state with the offerings I was to witness and experience at Ranga Shankara and Nrityagram.
The conversations with Arundhati Nag, the Founder and Creative Director proudly traced the five years of Ranga
Shankara, and the nearly two thousand performances they have had since. I only managed to see ZOPPERDOCKEL AND THE WOCK – which was the closing play of AHA (the Children’s International 10-day Theatre Festival). It left me amazed, dazed, impressed. And I am still reeling punch-drunk at the energy and reach of this one woman who started Ranga Shankara single-handedly.
AHA is the children’s wing of Ranga Shankara. It was started in 2006. And invites plays from several countries and conduct summer workshops for children…knowing that the future of all arts and culture lies is in their hands.
This year, the all-day festival introduced some 350 young people to traditional Indian forms and plays from abroad – Germany, Australia, Argentina. For the first time infants were brought to watch theatre! Sadly, I could only catch George Bydlinski’s ZAPPERDOCKEL, directed by Paul Schmidt and Wally Schmidt of Saltz und Pfeffer, Nuremburg, Germany. It aimed at six years and above….but it was so easy to forget that I was six decades removed from their target group!
Zappardockel is yellow, tiny, unsure and a crybaby. Wock is blue, fat and grumpy. And ZAPPAERDOCKEL AND THE WOCK in puppet form is the touching story of the beginning of a friendship between two creatures that couldn’t be more different from each other. The lighting, the quick-timing, the original use of colour and elements to express a thought, idea, emotion left one stunned and hugely impressed.
What was even more interesting was that this was a Ranga Shankara production in collaboration with the Goethe Institute of Max Mueller Bhavan with music composed by Kumaresh and lovable puppets made by Anurupa Roy of Kat-katha in Delhi.
Even though the festival has ended, ZAPPAERDOCKEL AND THE WOCK will continue to be staged by Ranga Shankara in different locations and cities in months to come….as Aru quotes: “The play is the thing”… and we shall continue to give wings to our collective dream!
A very typical sumptuous almost 15-course Kerala lunch celebrating Onam with Saraswati and Girish Karnad made the Ranga Shankara experience perfect. Kannadigas love to sample a variety of foods.
The same evening Girish Karnad and I were able to visit the Chowdiah Auditorium to see Prime Time Theatre Company’s BRIEF CANDLE directed by Lilette Dubey. And a totally different almost North Indian cosmopolitan face of Bangalore opened up.
Mahesh Dattani’s play had the competent Prime Time repertory usuals Joy Sengupta, Suchitra Pillai, Amar Talwar amongst others making their entrances and exits in a cancer Avedna hospital – which as a diversion is staging a play written by an inmate who had recently left this world. My first observation was that the choice of this huge auditorium did not lend itself to the staging of this intimate content which also appeared a bit contrived. Concentration kept slagging. And the forced light-heartedness did not resurrect the evening. The actors having travelled from Mumbai lacked lustre, and even the staging of the ghost seemed repetitive.
My next stop was Nrityagram in Hasserghatta – the dance village founded by my dearest friend Protima Bedi who merged with the earth in 1998. I am sure she is watching and guiding from somewhere…watching her ‘disciples’ Surupa Sen and Bijayni Satpathy practicing VIBHAKTA – an excerpt from their original piece PRATIMA: RELECTION transported one to the heaven of the Gods.
Doing an excerpt from Ardhanareshwara Stotra attributed to Shri Adi Shankara, this piece has been choreographed by Surupa with music composed by Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi. The dancers Bijayni and Surupa are like the best of the best-synchronized Swiss watches ticking away to every nuance that the emotion demanded.
Perhaps a little note on PRATIMA explains this better.
In the union and the separation of the male and female principle lies the secret of all creation. It is believed that creation begins when, with the power of yoga, the ONE splits into two and becomes Ardhanareshwara (half-man half woman). In this form both halves live in perfect symphony – at once distinct and separate as well as harmonious and blended. Each acknowledges and celebrates the existence of the other.
This piece was specially commissioned for a performance in New York. And has been listed in the New Yorker of Sept. 12, 2008 by Joan Acocella as among the “ten best dance performances of 2008”. I would recommend this to all sponsors to provide a platform so that a larger number of us Indians can take pride in our culture and stand testimony to this exquisite treasure that is still blooming in Nritiyagram.
Too much of feminism has made us take sides. The message being imparted through Ardhanareshwara Stotra is one of universality of mankind -- respect and peaceful co existence of different cultures, genders, faiths, and beliefs….through the arts and through culture humanity can learn to be more tolerant and unite…that is the need of the hour!!!
Veteran theatre actress and critic
Point of View - Review of Some Girl(s)
Just takes one girl()…
As I was going my way to the Experimental Theatre, I was asked if I knew LaBute. I said no but I kind of lied…
Lies aside, Some Girls(s) is written by Neil LaBute and adapted by Akarsh Khurana. Nadir Khan directs the ensemble of Mukul Chadda, Radhika Mital, Shivani Tanksale, Tarana Raja Kapoor & Juhi Pande who proceed to strip the romantic entanglements of contemporary men and women of the romanticism.
One sees Mukul playing The Man who’s a BBC exec on the verge of getting married. As a pre-nup, he seeks out former girlfriends who he thinks he’s rubbed the wrong way to make up. The ones we see are merely a subset of the emotional churn he has left. The initial friendliness soon erupts into painful and angry confrontations. The Man gets a verbal hailstorm but each of the ex-flames has come hoping for some sort of closure but instead leaves the room slightly more wounded than before.
Shivani (Ritu) does a fair job with her portrayal of the simplistic girl-woman
whose aspirations end at a vanilla existence. While Shivani’s innate sense of comic timing shines through, you can’t help but wonder if the graph of her character is stuck at the prom where she was dumped. That said, her character of the hometown girl who got left behind has the most convincingly wounded persona. You can feel her crumbling when she says that she thought he wanted to tell her that she was the-one-who-got-away…but it’s the tempo change from humour to rank emotion that’s truly impressive.
Juhi Pande plays Natasha - the clichéd designer with scruples resembling those of a politician. Natas
ha is possibly the most interesting character of the play with a lot of emotional bandwidth to play with. Unfortunately, deliberately or otherwise, we don’t see that translated onstage consistently. There are brief references to emotional subtext like when she mentions looking at his phone bills and realizing he was still calling an ex. That’s the only time you’re privy to her personal conflict and strength. It’s a deft touch but a little too deft for the audience to make any palpable connection with her. Except perhaps as an airhead sexpot.
It’s around the time of Radhika’s (Arunima) appearance on stage, you start feeling
bad for Mukul. She plays the married-woman-left-behind role to the hilt with a kinkiness that’s mixed with a very real bitterness. It’s the rawest and most honest character onstage with aspects of revenge sex and cuckoldry. But there’s a fine line between giving a character texture and tacking on superfluous angles, and thankfully, Nadir keeps the sketch simple. It would be easy to make her the architect of a Crouching-Employer’s wife-Wounded-Filmmaker…
The last of the flickering flames is played by Tarana (Shivani) and it’s hard to fault her performance. It’s not th
at she peeled back layers of her character for us but rather the simplicity with which she essays her part that grips. An RJ making her theatrical debut? She could have fooled me. Her stage energy is really something else. She’s also the one he probably could have been happy with if he were capable of a mature, committed relationship. In fact, he actually asks her to marry him. Too complicated. Interestingly, hers is the first character that debates the nature of The Man’s psyche and, in particular, the fact that he has begun to use these relationships as grist for his career mill.
I think I would have liked the play more if The Man was not played by Mukul. His fidgety, Princeton-prep stage movement did not convey, to me, the duality of a womanizer, dislikeable to the core but charming to the fairer sex nevertheless. There was too much anxiety and vulnerability in the portrayal for a conflicted audience response. The Man’s confidence picks up steadily but if you based it on the first 5 minutes of the play you’d think his main line was “Er…” This Reviewer chalked the performance of The Man down to The ONE (Opening Night Energy).
From a visual perspective, all the sets are static hotel bedrooms underlining not only the repetitiveness of The Man's love life but also the redun
dancy of the thought process. The amours undergo almost identical emotional paths: repressed pain breaks through their composure followed by varying degrees of revenge. The only real change we see is The Man moving up the food chain. The women he pursues are increasingly sophisticated and multidimensional devices of justice. Sir, the mushrooms will now be called truffles if you will.
What does make you watch the play is the mirror it holds up for you to peer into. LaBute probes the throbbing dark side of individualism and his vision of modern men and women is unsparing. This play is not about the ex-flames. The playbook characters they represent seem almost naïve. The twist at the end The Man’s motivation behind the meetings is revealed as a desperate requirement for media content is clever but no more. No, this play makes the male protagonist a stand-in for every commitment-shy, self-absorbed, self-deluded contemporary man. It's not The Man’s being a serial relationship defector that makes him an "emotional terrorist" (it’s difficult to blame an eighteen-year-old for not wanting to settle down and an affair with a married woman is precisely that). It's the exploitativeness and the shallow getaways that broaden the scope of this emotional terrorist. And makes it rankle and hit home. See, every man knows LaBute. Intimately. We may not like what we see, but we can't deny that it exists. At least for some of u(s)…
- Avinash D'Souza
Investment Banker by day, Theatrewallah by night
AK's Various Thoughts
CHAOTIC TIMES
I must apologize. I am the reason that this edition of The Script is up a day later than it should have been. In a week from now (less, actually), I am taking 35 people to Bangalore to perform 9 shows of 6 different plays over 5 days. Without a sponsor. I’m currently dealing with the realization of the magnitude of my foolishness, while also handling travel plans (
similar to transporting a zoo), accommodation (posing serious threat to the hotel we stay in), publicity (pushing the limits of attachment sizes) and rehearsals (now also having to stand in for a part, because the costume fits), and as such have been unable to focus on writing my article. Thus the delay. In light of this paragraph, I hope you will forgive me. And if you’re in Bangalore and reading this, come to Ranga Shankara between October 8 and 11, with lots of friends, well stuffed wallets and support our suicidal cause.The theatre scene was pretty active in September. Early in the month, Aasakta, the hugely talented group from across the expressway, reappeared with Kashmir Kashmir, helmed by Mohit Takalkar, a true master of his craft.
Feroz Abbas Khan reappeared with revivals of All The Best (no connection with the much hyped Diwali movie, though that is based on a play – Uncle Samjhaa Karo) and Salesman Ramlal, his adaptation of the Arthur Miller classic, Death of a Salesman, which featured a bravura performance by Satish Kaushik.
Q Theatre Productions reappeared, soon after its last production, with Some Girl(s), a play by Neil LaBute (and not LaButa as some people will have you believe), which opened to great houses at NCPA, despite having to clash with an India Pakistan cricket match. Rumor has it that the adaptation is brilliant, and is the primary reason behind the crowds flocking to the theatre.
The month ended with the opening of Arpana’s latest, S*x, M*rality and Cens*rship (hope I’ve placed the asterisks correctly), directed by Sunil Shanbag. Thi
s is a brave piece of work, pushing many envelopes, providing us with a window into another theatrical era, paying tribute to Sakharam Binder, Vijay Tendulkar’s absolutely fantastic text, and raised pertinent questions about some of the terms in the title. Its part history class, part presentation, and part spectacle, and certainly qualifies as a ‘should-watch’.Amidst all this, we pulled off a pretty interesting dramatized reading of Rakhel, a play by the respected poet Keki Daruwala, at Chauraha at NCPA. We got a bunch of old faithfuls, dressed them up in costumes from other plays, and read out an entire play with fairly elaborate blocking. The few people who came by to see it (didn’t the others see “free” on the invites?) were quite taken aback, as they were expecting to see some people reading somberly off barstools, and not choreographed fight sequences and sex scenes. (Now you’ll come watch, won’t you?) This was followed by an intelligent discussion (which, of course, we couldn’t be part of!) and the writer got some valuable insight into his text, and is currently tweaking it.
I’m wrapping up now. Have to cancel some train tickets, design some flyers and go to some rehearsals. You mustn’t think I don’t enjoy this. I love planning complicated trips from Bombay to Bangalore, via Nagpur, Kanpur and Kerala. Theatre actors, you see, are always shooting for ad films. I also love redesigning flyers because a logo of somebody who is buying more than 4 tickets has to be included. And most of all, I love rehearsals, now that I have to act in addition to all this chaos. And have to deal with the incorrigible Sanjay Dadhich, who, when recently accused of being an arrogant actor, calmly replied, “In theatre, if you are humble, you fumble.”
Up and Coming - Play Schedule
The following is a list of shows you should watch out for this month. The code to it's deciphering is as follows:
in blue are QTP events.
Those with an (R) next to them means that we have reviewed it, and if you require a review simply email us at qtheatreproductions@gmail.com asking for it.
Those with an (PP) next to them means that it is a platform performance, entry free!
| Date, Day | Time & Venue | Play | Notes |
| 1, Thu | |||
| 9pm, Prithvi | S*x, M*orality and Cens*rship | Set in a furore that was caused by the staging of Sakharam Binder in the 70s. | |
| 2, Fri | |||
| 4 & 7:30pm, Prithvi | S*x, M*orality and Cens*rship | Directed by Sunil Shanbag. | |
| 3, Sat | |||
| 7pm Nehru Centre | Madan Bhol | A Marathi version of Girish Karnad's Flowers | |
| 6 & 9:30pm, Prithvi | S*x, M*orality and Cens*rship | Developed by Shanta Gokhale and Irawati Karnik | |
| 4, Sun | |||
| 7pm, Nehru Centre | Layla Majnun | Structured like a Greek tragedy, this is an Urdu retelling of the famous love story. | |
| 4 & 7:30pm, Prithvi | S*x, M*orality and Cens*rship | With Nagesh Bhonsle, Gitanjali Kulkarni, Shubhrojyoti Barat, Ketaki Thatte , Rajashree Wad, Hridaynath Jadhav, Umesh Jagtap, Gulshan Devaiah, Puja Swaroop. | |
| 7:45pm, Sophia Auditorium | What Women Want | Hindi Adaptation of 'All About Women'. | |
| 5, Mon | |||
| 7pm, Nehru Centre | Ismat Aapa Ke Naam II | Directed by Naseeruddin Shah, the latest in the short story series. | |
| 6, Tue | 7pm, Nehru Centre | Brief Candle | Mahesh Dattani's new play about inmates of a cancer hospital. |
| 6 & 9pm, Prithvi | Baby | Vijay Tendulkar's hard hitting classic about a girl who is made to behave like a dog. Winner of Outstanding Actress at Thespo 8 in 2006. | |
| 7, Wed | |||
| 7pm, Nehru Centre | Ayussinte Pusthakam | Explores the ideas of family, priesthood, sex and marriage. | |
| 6 & 9pm, Prithvi | Dalan | A hilarious comedy about a newly transferred tyrannical school master having to reckon with a lively bunch of school children. Winner of Outstanding Actor, Outstanding Supporting Actor and Outstanding Play at Thespo 10 in 2008. | |
| 8, Thu | |||
| 7pm, Nehru Centre | Chanakya | Manoj Joshi's retelling about the life of the scheming Chanakya. | |
| 9pm, Prithvi | Baap Re Baap & Gaj Foot Inch | Two humorous short plays - Baap Re Baap is a comedy of errors, where as Gaj Foot Inch deal with a deeper emotions of an adolescent boy on the threshold of adulthood. | |
| 9, Fri | |||
| 7pm, Nehru Centre | Kirat Pawa | An exploration of the exploitation of the "untouchables" via the Mahabharata. | |
| 9pm, Prithvi | Baap Re Baap & Gaj Foot Inch | Written by K.P.Saxena. Directed by Om Katare. | |
| 10, Sat | 2pm, Nehru Centre | Mahanirvan | A dark comedy about how a society comes to terms with death. |
| 7pm, Nehru Centre | Hum Suffer | An erstwhile couple reunite after many years. | |
| 6 & 9pm, Prithvi | Chinta Chhod Chintamani | The story of a family where the father thinks his progenies are standing at the threshold of total ruination. | |
| 11, Sun | |||
| 2pm, Nehru Centre | Einstein: Sapekshta Sangnara | The conflicts of Einstein when his theory was used to make the atom bomb. | |
| 7pm, Nehru Centre | Ajintha | The love story between Major Robert Gill & Paro. | |
| 6 & 9pm, Prithvi | Chanakya | The greatest statesman, a political strategist and the one who created a nation out of squabbling kingdoms. | |
| 6:30pm, Tata Theatre | Salesman Ramlal | With Satish Kaushik, Seema Biswas, Kishore Kadam and others | |
| 12, Mon | 7pm, Nehru Centre | Hum Kahein Aap Suney | Directed by Nadira Zaheer Babbar. |
| 13, Tue | 7pm, Nehru Centre | Wahan Paye Dariya | Questions the meaning of love in a brutally realistic society. |
| 9pm | Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace | Not just the story of one woman, but of all of us, trapped in lives that are not our own. | |
| 14, Wed | 2pm, Nehru Centre | Tengshechya Swapnat Train | A man has recurring dreams about trains, is a passenger on an out of control train. |
| 7pm, Nehru Centre | Madhyabartini | Using Kamrupiya Dhuliya & other Assamese folk traditions they tell a very modern story. | |
| 9pm, Prithvi | Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace | A One Woman Performance by Jayati Bhatia. Directed by Q. | |
| 15, Thu | 9pm, Prithvi | Some Girl(s) | A young man is about to get hitched. And yet, he panics. He begins calling up ex-girlfriends to bring some closure to old relationships perhaps in search of the perfect woman. |
| 16, Fri | |||
| 9pm, Prithvi | Some Girl(s) | An accurate, humorous look at the typical, somewhat lost young man of today.
Written by Neil LaBute. | |
| 17, Sat | 7 & 9:30pm, Prithvi | Some Girl(s) | With Mukul Chaddha , Shivani Tanksale , Juhi Pande, Radhika Mittal & Tarana Raja Kapoor. |
| 18, Sun | 7 & 9:30pm, Prithvi | Some Girl(s) | A man, on the verge of getting married, sets off on a journey across India to meet his ex-girlfriends as a sort of penance. |
| 20, Tue | |||
| 9pm, Prithvi | Hum Kahein Aap Suney | An Ekjute Presentation. | |
| 21, Wed | |||
| 9pm, Prithvi | Footnotes of Life | A play based mainly on randomly picked excerpts from our life that speak volumes about the unsaid emotions relevant to any relationship | |
| 22, Thu | |||
| 9pm, Prithvi | Yamraaj Ji Kuch Kariye | A stylized play based on Natyadharmi Shaili. | |
| 23, Fri | 9pm, Prithvi | Yamraaj Ji Kuch Kariye | With Hanif Patni, Darpan Mishra, Ankur Parekh, Abhishek Narayan, Vijay Singh, Sangam Shukla and others. |
| 24, Sat | 11am | Saat Teri Ekvees | 7 monologues which unfolds subjects like surrogate mother, Laxman’s wife Urmila, human clone, an uncommon story of a common man and others. |
| 7pm, Prithvi | The Vagina Monologues | Eve Ensler’s Obie award winning play. | |
| 9pm, Prithvi | Kissa Yoni Ka | Hindi version of The Vagina Monologues | |
| 7pm, NCPA Exp. | 1-888-Dial-India | Written and Directed by Anuvab Pal. | |
| 7pm, Sathaye College Auditorium* | Ek Rikaami Baaju | The story revolves around a young woman who has been diagnosed with cancer and how deals with it. | |
| 25, Sun | 11am, Prithvi | Chha Chauku Chavees | A Manhar Ghadia Presentation. |
| 7 & 9pm, Prithvi | The Vagina Monologues | A Poor Box Presentation. | |
| 6:30pm, NCPA Experimental | All About Women | Written by Miro Gavran. Directed by Hidaayat Sami | |
| 7pm, Sathaye College Auditorium* | Ek Rikaami Baaju | Directed by Anurima Khutwad. | |
| 26, Mon | 7:30pm, 18 Anukool | Great Text Reading | An informal reading of The Dispute by Marivaux. All are welcome. |
| 27, Tue | 8:30pm, Prithvi | Art | A comedy about a man who buys a modern painting. |
| 28, Wed | 8:30pm, Prithvi | Lift Kara De | A comedy about a seduction gone all wrong. |
| 29, Thu | 7 & 9pm, Prithvi | Kissa Yoni Ka | With Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal, Dolly Thakore, Varshaa Agnihotri, Russika Duggal and Dilnaz Irani |
| 30, Fri | 7 & 9:30pm, Prithvi | Shirley Valentine | A women who, when she finds her family life in total disarray, decides to run away to Greece to find herself. |
| 31, Sat | |||
| 7 & 9pm, Prithvi | The Vagina Monologues | This play was written after interviewing 200 women from all over the world. |
* Sathaye College Auditorium - Dixit Road, Vile Parle (e)
You can also check the following websites for more information:
Prithvi Theatre: http://www.prithvitheatre.org/
NCPA: http://www.tata.com/ncpa
Mumbai Theatre Guide: http://www.mumbaitheatreguide.com/
Best of Bombay: www.bestofbombay.com/calendar.php
Online Ticket Booking: www.bookmyshow.com
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