With an extended schedule, the city’s premier theatre festival returns. Trustee Zahan Kapoor chats about the inspired itinerary and challenges ahead. Plus, our fave shows and gigs to catch
A file picture of Prithvi Theatre
It is a busy afternoon when Zahan Kapoor answers this writer’s call. As trustee, he is busy with last-minute preparations for one of the biggest celebrations of the year — the Prithvi Theatre Festival. “This is a concentrated time when the fraternity comes together,” Kapoor shares. Extended by five days this year, the festival will witness over 26 premieres by production companies across the country.
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Kunal (left) and Zahan Kapoor
“Extending it even by five days has a logistical load. It has its own unique challenges from setting rehearsal dates to managing the venue,” Kapoor notes. This can be a challenge, considering the curation spreads across art forms of theatre, music and dance performance. The infrastructure though, Kapoor assures, is ready. The newly upgraded light and sound mixers ensure that the venue is moving ahead with times, while retaining its familiar feel.
The other addition is the Fringe venue that has grown popular for radical experiments. “It caters to a specific kind of performance. It also encourages newer groups and more experimental work,” he remarks, adding that there are plans to transform the space into a parallel venue for shows throughout the year. “Extending the festival is a challenge, and we might have to power through. But that is part of the fun,” the Kapoor scion laughs, as he signs off.
From: November 3 to November 18
At: Prithvi Theatre and Fringe, opposite Prithvi House, Juhu.
Log on to: prithvitheatre.org; in.bookmyshow.com
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The guide’s top picks
At Prithvi Theatre
Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah. File Pic
>> Return of old maestros
Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Shah open with Ek Dastaan Ek Haqeeqat, writer Ashok Lal’s contemporary dastans replete with poetry, themes of religious harmony and justice.
ON November 4, 9 pm; November 5, 6 pm and 9 pm
Entry Rs 750 onwards
>> Live laugh love
Manav Kaul’s new musical Pyar Aadmi Ko Kabootar Banaa Deta Hai, based on his book Prem Kabootar tells the story of three boys who fall in love and out of the ‘bro-code.’
ON November 6; 6 pm and 9 pm
ENTRY Rs 750
>> Snapshots of a romance
Ghanshyam Lalsa’s group brings to the stage three decades of a tender romance, through snapshots of a complex relationship in Khichik (Snapshots).
ON November 7; 6 pm and 9 pm
ENTRY Rs 750
>> Finding singularity
Unlike the premieres on show, Adishakti will be presenting the final run of their famed production, Brhannala — that first premiered 20 years ago on the Prithvi stage — based on the mythical episode from the Mahabharata on Arjuna’s transformation.
ON November 8; 6 pm and 9 pm
ENTRY Rs 500
>> Book this drama
Mahmood Farooqui (extreme right) and Poonam Girdhani’s Dastan-E-Ret Samadhi take Geetanjali Shree’s Booker Prize-winning novel, Tomb of Sand and transform it into a dastangoi performance.
ON November 9, 9 pm; November 10, 5 pm
ENTRY Rs 750
>> Drunken reveries
Makarand Deshpande will bring back his drunk avatar in this solo act, Piyakkad, that he calls “an insight into the true makings of a drunkard”. Deshpande gives us a sneak peek, saying, “It’s the story of three veteran drunkards that have changed my life.”
ON November 14; 6 pm and 9 pm
ENTRY Rs 750
>> Heart of a family
Sachin Khedekar (seated) takes on the role of a disillusioned patriarch played by the late James Earl Jones and Denzel Washington in Feroz Abbas Khan’s Hind, the Hindustani adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fences.
ON November 16, 6 pm and 9 pm; November 17, 5 pm and 8 pm
ENTRY Rs 750
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At Fringe
>> Russian tales
Russian poet Alexander Pushkin’s poem will come to life in Purvabhyas Natya Sansthan’s stage adaptation, Gypsies, that deep dives into the concepts of morality, conformity to law and freedom.
ON November 13; 5 pm and 7 pm
ENTRY Rs 250
>> Grandma’s love
A grandmother and granddaughter’s bond of sacrifice and unconditional love finds an emotional expression on stage with Tumhara Shammi.
ON November 18; 5 pm and 7 pm
ENTRY Rs 250
>> Murakami speaks
A Japanese adventure is set to unfold with Adammya Theatre Group’s premiere of this fantastical story on Mizuki Ozawa’s chance meeting with increasingly mysterious characters in Aham Murakami.
ON November 16; 5 pm and 7 pm
ENTRY Rs 250
Music
>> Quadrophonics II – 4 Pianos
Veteran keyboardist Louiz Banks will unlock a treasure trove of symphonies with instrumentalists Tubby, Rahul Wadhwani and Arka Chakraborty, Gino Banks on drums and Sheldon D’Silva on bass.
ON November 18; 8 pm
ENTRY Rs 750
>> Symphony Orchestra of India
Young piano prodigy Ayaan Deshpande will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.21 at this specially curated programme.
ON November 11; 8 pm
ENTRY Rs 500
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