Centrestage opens for Mumbai drama

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Theatre gets bigger and broader in the literal sense at Centrestage, the theatre festival which commences at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai from November 18 to November 27. In collaboration with AGP productions, the second edition of the festival has a lot to offer in terms of visuals, music, dance and many other elements infused with the vocabulary of theatre. Centrestage will have 15 plays in Hindi, Marathi, English and Gujarati premiering at the festival, presented by various theatre groups from India and abroad. What seems remarkable about this edition of the festival is the sheer variety and volume in terms of what plays have to offer. From highlighting the gravity of some current issues to dance dramas and Broadway musicals, Centrestage has some attractive performances lined up.
Deepa Gahlot, head of programming (theatre and film), says that the second edition of this festival is slowly shaping an identity for itself. “It is interesting and challenging to showcase premiering plays. Centrestage has paved its way into the cultural consciousness of the city and is undoubtedly here to stay. The response from the theatre community last year was overwhelming. Centrestage plays from last year have won in festivals all over in India. Out of 13 awards in META 2011, nine went to Centrestage 2010 plays. A selection of Centrestage plays went to the Nehru Centre Festival, and will also be performed at the forthcoming Bharat Rang Mahotsav. One of the plays The Interview also went to the Hot Ink Festival in New York, Chakra was invited to a festival in the Czech Republic. At last year’s Centrestage, three groups were born... Aarambh, Dharmendra Gohil Productions and Orange Dinghy, which reappear at NCPA-AGP Centrestage 2011,” she said.
This time around the festival will present nine English, two Marathi, two Hindi and two Gujarati plays. It also showcases some international collaborations like Mindwalking and Lady Swettenham, which are produced by internationl production houses in India. The festival also showcases works of popular theatre groups like the Awishkar Natak Company, Akvarious Productions, Rangshila Cultural, Aarambh and many more production houses. What is also special is that Achyut Vaze has written a play (Sad, Sadachi Bayako Ani Urlela Jag) after 25 years, while Vikram Kapadia has written a new play (Bombay Talkies) after 10 years. Akarsh Khurana of Akvarious Productions says that Centrestage has emerged as a platform to premiere new plays. “There is an emergence of a new software in Indian theatre with Centrestage. This also gives a chance to various theatre groups to exercise something new and ambitious. I would say ambitious since an institute like NCPA has subsidised costs and thus brought down the budget drastically, making it easier for theatre groups. It also takes off the load financially,” he says. He will be premiering Baghdad Wedding at the festival, which is essentially a journey about three men who leave Iraq to go to London to study. “I bought the script written by Iraqi playwright Hassan Abdulrazzack three years ago and decided to adapt it. It is a take on the crises happening in Iraq and the political background. Initially I thought I wouldn’t be able to do justice to the script, but I found time later and finally made it,” he says.
Theatre festivals across the country end up being stereotyped in many ways. Dhamendra Gohil who is presenting Waiting Room says that the buzz around the festival is quite strong and is noticeable this year. “One of the biggest advantages of Centrestage is that it has emerged as a platform for experimental and non-commercial plays. It definitely has given directors like us a boost and has motivated us to do well,” he says. Considering experimental Gujarati theatre doesn’t have that an active platform like it does for its strong commercial body of plays, Dhamendra says that people are exploring different options. “I just feel that all these years the Gujarati audience was forced to watch the commercial theatre as there wasn’t much experimentation happening,” says Dhamendra. Waiting Room, written by Prayag Dave is about four women from different backgrounds in a waiting room. Hell breaks loose when they realise that there is commonality in some aspect of their past.
Some of the interesting collaborations to watch out for Sarpa Sutra, which brings together theatre, dance and music that reflects the lives and times. Two versions of the same narrative unfold: one by the magisterial Veda Vyasa and the other by Arun Kolatkar. Spamalat is an English musical with a cast and crew of 35 members who come together for a musical spoof on King Arthur and his knights of Camelot. The festival goes on till November 27 and will also have a theatre direction workshop.