Friday, May 25, 2012

Delhi Play Schedule. May 26 and May 27

Thanks to summers there are several plays happening in Delhi over the weekend and beyond. Keeping up with my promise to bring to you the latest in Delhi theatre circuit, I am presenting the schedule of plays of your reference. Feel free to share it with your friends and family


Delhi Play Schedule for May 26 and May 27




































National School of Drama (NSD) Summer Theatre Festival 2012

The Annual theatre festival from NSD is back. See impressive mix of classic plays and productions such as "Begum ka Takia" and  "Blood Wedding". 

NSD Summer Theatre Festival
Dates From: May 25 2012 To: June 18 2012

Schedule:

Play: Old Town
Dates: Everyday from May25 Until May 30 2012
Time: 07:30 PM
Venue: NSD lawns, Opposite bookshop, NSD, Bhagwan Dass Road, New Delhi
About the Play: Design & Direction: 
Roysten Abel. The play is based on a carnival, in which a family tries to keep alive an ancient 2,000 year old performance art tradition. It has Rajasthan puppetry, Kudiyattam, nautanki and also see acrobats perform and listen to sufi singers. 

Play: Comrade Khumbhakran
Dates: Everyday from May 31 until June 2 2012
Time: 06:30 PM
Venue: Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi
About the Play: Direction: Mohit Talwar. 
Comic story of a man obsessed with playing the role of Khumbhakran in Ramayana. 

Play: Begum ka Takia
Dates: Everyday from June12 Until June 15 2012
Time: 06:30 PM
Venue: Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi
About the Play: Director: Yashraj Jadhav. 
It is a story of two brothers; one is a simpleton and the other ambitious. The latter leaves for the city and gets involved with a courtesan who introduces him to new flavors of life. After achieving his dreams, he returns back to his village to his brother lives and what unfolds is a plethora of unexpected emotions and bitter sweet happenings. This is a story of their lives as narrated by them.
 
Play: Blood Wedding
Dates: Everyday from June16 Until June 18 2012
Time: 06:30 PM
Venue: NSD (National School of Drama), Bhagwan Dass Road, New Delhi
About the Play: Director: Neelam Man Singh Chaudhary

Friday, May 18, 2012

Review - Ek Mamooli Aadmi

I will be reviewing plays when I see them. "Ek Mamooli Aadmi" is being staged on this weekend at IHC. I thought it would help that I share my views on the play with my audience (are there any?) :) 

PS: Some of the actors might have changed since I saw it. 
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“We distinguish the excellent man from the common man by saying that the former is the one who makes great demands on himself, and the latter who makes no demands on himself.”
Jose Ortega y Gasset quotes (Spanish philosopher and humanist , 1883-1955

These lines very well describe the underlying theme of a riveting play by Asmita Theatre Group. Written by Ashok Lal and Directed by Arvind Gaur, this play tells the life and death theory of Shri Ishwar Chand Awasthi. You can either see it as a theatrical personification of the world’s most famous common man by RK Laxman we all grew up seeing in the morning newspaper or you could see it as a journey of a person who lived like a nobody died as a nobody but unintentionally touched hearts of many just by doing what he was supposed to do. Wonderfully put together screenplay and the script raises several issues, without making a particular issue the center of it all. Beginning seems like a mystery play with the son of a dead head clerk wondering why Brahmins won’t come to last rites of a person they were worshipping a few days ago. The mystery slowly unfolds as a story of his father who hardly ever spoke to anyone, spent his life as a loner despite living with his son who at one point was the sole purpose of his existence.  The scene where the protagonist was introduced establishes the very crux of the play. I still remains fresh in my head. I did not notice when he came onto the stage and started to listen. Every things seems usual except Mr Awasthi’s attitude. He starts to change – he loses his ‘virginity’, spends a day with a female colleague much to her surprise and appreciation, takes a decision against powerful people, loses their favor but earns something he never intended to earn – tears of a few underprivileged people when he leaves this world quietly.
I have seen several of Asmita’s play. I found the strength of each play very different from the other. While ‘Operation Three Star’ would tickle your funny bone, ‘Ambedkar aur Gandhi’ would stimulate you intellectually, ‘Ramkali’ will send you tears through your eyes ‘Ek Mamooli Aadmi’ has one of the best character development I have seen on stage. How wonderfully the character of Mr Awasthi develops and you get to understand the psyche of a common man is what this play’s USP is. Viren Basoya has beautifully depicted a very ordinary common man supported by Bajrang Bali Singh as a well intentioned alcoholic we all love to hate – because they can say the truth.
If you haven’t seen the play already, the play is being staged on May 19th and May 20th 2012 at IHC at 7:30 PM

Plays on May 19th and May 20th Weekend in Delhi

I will be posting about Plays in Delhi  as they happen. Please keep visiting so that you do not miss out on them.



This is Publicly available data. Dates and Venues might change. 

For tickets, visit venue or bookmyshow.com

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Theatre for Change, Theatre for Society - Weekend Theatre Workshop by Asmita

Asmita Theatre Group organizes summer theatre workshop for all age groups on weekends. Its called - Theatre for Change, Theatre for Society (TCTS) as their aim is to promote theatre as a platform for creating awareness about social issues. I have been a theater lover for a long time, but TCTS was my first connection with a large set of theatre lovers, artists and experienced actors. Not only did I learn some important techniques and movements as the first step to learning acting, I performed, for the first time, in front of live audience in the form of a street play. I also made loads of friends with common interest in the field. 

I would strongly recommend people who have any inclination towards acting, theatre or learning a new skill to participate in this workshop. This workshop is organised keeping in mind school students, college students and working professionals - hence the weekend timings in summers. This is a free workshop so you cannot use the "Funds Issue" as an excuse for this. 
Not only will you learn something new, you will have a great time,  and make good friends. I am not sure if I will be able to join this time but would definitely try. 

This workshop coincides with  Asmita's Summer Theatre Festival and the TCTS students are given a chance to prepare short street plays during the workshop (and after) to perform in front of live audience, just before the play.

Link to FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/356214837774672/

Details:
Event: Summer Theatre Workshop by Asmita - Theatre for Change, Theatre for Society
Dates: 
Starting: May 19 at 9:00am 
Ending: July 8 at 1:00pm
Basically, every Saturday and Sunday at 09:00 AM starting May19th until July 8th. 
What to Carry: Positive Attitude, loads of energy, food (for your friends) and lots and lots of water.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Welcome to "Theatre in Delhi"

I would like to welcome all to this new blog about Theatre scene in Delhi NCR. Unlike a few years ago, a lot of theatre is happening in Delhi and theatre lovers have never had it so good. Through this blog, readers can read about plays happening in Delhi, information about theatre groups, information about theatre classes, reviews of various plays and everything to bring you up to speed about theatre scene in Delhi. I am neither an actor not associated with any particular theatre group but just a theatre lover.
I strongly believe that not only does theatre provide intellectual stimulation compared to watching idiot box, it is also a healthy and potent medium to bring forth issues in society and have people start thinking about them.

I would request theatre groups and event companies holding plays in Delhi NCR to please send me an email informing me about the upcoming events which will be duly shared here. I will also be inviting other theatre lovers to share their reviews about plays they have watched. Their review would be duly shared with due credits.