Theatre

It was good to get back to Ranga Shankara and theatre after a long hiatus, and it so happened that it was a play from the land I had left behind! Poorna Jagannathan Productions was staging, as part of the Martin Moran India tour, his play, "The Tricky Part". The play, written and performed by Martin Moran, is the story of his life.  Between the ages of 12 and 15, he had a sexual relationship with a much older man, who was actually a counselor he met at a Catholic boys' camp. How he resolves the ancient conflicts, and his…

It was good to get back to Ranga Shankara and theatre after a long hiatus, and it so happened that it was a play from the land I had left behind! Poorna Jagannathan Productions was staging, as part of the Martin Moran India tour, his play, "The Tricky Part". The play, written and performed by Martin Moran, is the story of his life.  Between the ages of 12 and 15, he had a sexual relationship with a much older man, who was actually a counselor he met at a Catholic boys' camp. How he resolves the ancient conflicts, and his…

Once in a while, instead of attending intense, issue-based plays, it's good to go and have an evening of pure, unadulterated fun in the theatre! And so it proved, when I went to watch "Bade Miyaan Deewane", staged by Rangbaaz Group, in association with Rashmi Sharma Telefilms.     A scene from the play, "Bade Miyaan Deewane", staged at Ranga Shankara on 7 and 8 June 2014   Directed by Imran Rasheed (who also essayed the role of Mir Saheb), the play is an adaptation of Shauqat Tanvi's novel "Budhbas", written in a lighter vein in Urdu. Thanvi's sure touch…

Once in a while, instead of attending intense, issue-based plays, it's good to go and have an evening of pure, unadulterated fun in the theatre! And so it proved, when I went to watch "Bade Miyaan Deewane", staged by Rangbaaz Group, in association with Rashmi Sharma Telefilms.     A scene from the play, "Bade Miyaan Deewane", staged at Ranga Shankara on 7 and 8 June 2014   Directed by Imran Rasheed (who also essayed the role of Mir Saheb), the play is an adaptation of Shauqat Tanvi's novel "Budhbas", written in a lighter vein in Urdu. Thanvi's sure touch…

In Bangalore in the early 90's, I was very impressed by one very young dramatist who wrote plays in English that showed a talent and an ability to mirror social issues well beyond his physical age.I watched every production of Mahesh Dattani's plays that I could, and bought the book of his plays to read the rest. I have also grown up in Kolkata, enjoying the vibrant Bengali theatre scene; to me,there was no greater  accolade of a person's creative talent than the words, "O theatar korcche" (He is into theatre).  So when my friend Shangon told me that a…

In Bangalore in the early 90's, I was very impressed by one very young dramatist who wrote plays in English that showed a talent and an ability to mirror social issues well beyond his physical age.I watched every production of Mahesh Dattani's plays that I could, and bought the book of his plays to read the rest. I have also grown up in Kolkata, enjoying the vibrant Bengali theatre scene; to me,there was no greater  accolade of a person's creative talent than the words, "O theatar korcche" (He is into theatre).  So when my friend Shangon told me that a…

I've attended, and enjoyed, several of Bangalore Little Theatre's productions over the years, because it's Bangalore's oldest theatre society...but this evening's production of "The Court Jester: Tales of Tenali Rama" was very special for me, as my grandchildren, 5 and 1, were visiting me, and I'd been very keen to give Kavya (the elder) a taste of theatre...so having a children's play by BLT to go to was a wish come true! The whole family went to Woodlands Hotel to find that things were delayed a bit, but Vijay Padaki filled in the gap with great panache. He first invited…

I've attended, and enjoyed, several of Bangalore Little Theatre's productions over the years, because it's Bangalore's oldest theatre society...but this evening's production of "The Court Jester: Tales of Tenali Rama" was very special for me, as my grandchildren, 5 and 1, were visiting me, and I'd been very keen to give Kavya (the elder) a taste of theatre...so having a children's play by BLT to go to was a wish come true! The whole family went to Woodlands Hotel to find that things were delayed a bit, but Vijay Padaki filled in the gap with great panache. He first invited…

Having watched Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research (what a mouthful, I'll call it ALTAR for short!)'s earlier production, "The Tenth Head" at Ranga Shankara, and reviewed it here, I was prepared for an interesting evening when I went to watch "Nidrdravathvam". The play is about two brothers of the protagonist and the antagonist of the Ramayana: Lakshmana and Kumbhakarna. They are connected in having received boons that, in the words of the excellent brochure provided by ALTAR, "dramatically alter their cycles of sleep and wakefulness." Kumbharkarna's tongue is tied by Saraswati, and instead of asking for "Nirdevatvam" (destruction of the Devas) he…

Having watched Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research (what a mouthful, I'll call it ALTAR for short!)'s earlier production, "The Tenth Head" at Ranga Shankara, and reviewed it here, I was prepared for an interesting evening when I went to watch "Nidrdravathvam". The play is about two brothers of the protagonist and the antagonist of the Ramayana: Lakshmana and Kumbhakarna. They are connected in having received boons that, in the words of the excellent brochure provided by ALTAR, "dramatically alter their cycles of sleep and wakefulness." Kumbharkarna's tongue is tied by Saraswati, and instead of asking for "Nirdevatvam" (destruction of the Devas) he…