A theatre festival that began as an effort by friends to put together their own gig, enters its 45th year with a 10-show performance across four different venues
Om Katare (centre) during a rehearsal of the play Vikram Rathore
The 1970s was an interesting time for Om Katare. The 60-year-old was, then, a young playwright and actor struggling to make ends meet in the city of Bombay. With few opportunities, he chose to create his own theatre company and host plays and performances. “It was a venture brought together by a few friends,” Katare, founder of Yatri Theatre Festival, recollects. Forty-five years later, it has grown into an annual presence at the city’s familiar haunt of Prithvi Theatre. This year, the festival will spread across four venues adding to an intra-city presence.
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“Our first ever production was Sharad Joshi’s Ek Tha Gadha urf Aladad Khan. It was January 16, and the Kapoors [Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendal] were kind enough to give us a space to perform at Prithvi. Since then, I juggled television and theatre,” Katare recalls. Since then, the playwright has written and directed over 50 plays, and 400 performances, including the critically acclaimed production of Sakharam Binder, directed by Sulabha Deshpande.
The crew readies the stage before a production
A key thread running through Katare’s programming of the festival has been subjects of societal consciousness. The highlight for this year’s festival is the premiere production of Vikram Rathore: Guilty or Not Guilty. “It is a sensitive play on a very current subject — questions of morality and justice in an unequal society. Another production is Kahan Surakshit Hain Hum, by an all-women cast, that has also directed and managed the show, telling a story that deserves their voice,” he shares.
Though the Juhu neighbourhood has been home for almost two decades, the festival’s expansion across different venues serves to a broader reason. Katare explains, “Each of the venues caters to a different audience. The challenge of a theatre performer is to vary their act to find a connection to their audience across demographics.”
Has four decades made it easier to manage the festival? Not really, he admits. “Even as we speak, the team is working on preparations, rehearsals, managing logistics. It is a small team of 60 members, but everyone lends a hand. The theatre is always a family,” he concludes.
Till: February 2; 4 pm onwards
At: Prithvi Theatre and Prithvi House, Juhu; Experimental Theatre, NCPA; Lata Mangeshkar Natya Gruha, Mira Road; Rangshila Theatre, Versova.
Log on to: in.bookmyshow.com
Cost: Rs 500 onwards
Catch these shows
>> Vikram Rathore
ON January 23 and January 24; 7 pm and 9 pm
AT Prithvi Theatre, Juhu.
>> Phone Pe
ON January 22 and January 26; 5 pm and 7.30 pm
AT Prithvi House, Juhu.
>> Ravanleela
ON January 31; 7 pm
AT Experimental Theatre, NCPA.
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