THEATRE

This tag is associated with 8 posts

Listen – One tip on Acting

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The great Laurence Olivier was asked in a radio interview if he could leave listeners, with a tip on acting. He said he could, he would in one word: “listen!” I have told my cast before they go on stage on opening night Continue reading →

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ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JAGRITI, BENGALURU

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A powerful performance always leaves an everlasting impression. It lingers on and resides in you longer than any motion picture. An experience which whenever recalled still gives you goosebumps! Ever thought about the mortals who create such experiences. The perseverance and passion they possess to constantly nurture talent and create phenomenal drama. Arundathi Raja and … Continue reading →

A chief Guest

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Of desultory applause and ‘lawful’ suspense! The scene is straight out of an incident that happened a few days ago. I reluctantly agree to be the Chief Guest at a function related to theatre. A taxi comes to take me to the other end of the city. It is obviously a long journey. I am … Continue reading →

Of Stars in the Sky in my Mind’s Eye

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Over 25 years ago, (it was 1989), I was met by the Director of The Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium who asked if I would record the English commentary for the first programme to be projected in the sky dome. I’ve done it ever since. Today, 17/01/17, I was driven in from Whitefield by an Ola driver … Continue reading →

‘Every art form has a heartbeat of its own’

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Rukmini Vijayakumar from Bengaluru is an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer and also a savvy modern and ballet dancer. She occasionally lights up the big screen with her acting stints too. She was in Hyderabad for ‘Gudi Sambaraalu’, the Telangana Temple Festival recently organised by the Telangana Heritage Trust. Rukmini along with members of her dance troupe … Continue reading →

Acting out science

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“There is an art to science,” said Isaac Asimov, “And a science in art; the two aren’t enemies, but different aspects of the whole.” This has been borne out in theatre in Bengaluru. This year, Gautam Raja’s The Vaidya’s Oath, on antimicrobial resistance, and Nilanjan Choudhury’s The Square Root of a Sonnet, on the life … Continue reading →

The Stage Set for Design

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“Well, doesn’t the audience know that it’s a live performance and there are going to be changes in the scene that won’t happen with the snap of a finger like they’re watching TV or a video? Read More Continue reading →

On Wings of Song!

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Strains of memories… Aruna Sunderlal came to Jagriti Farm sometime in the 80s along with her husband Raj. A friend wanted Arundhati and me to welcome the newly arrived pair to Bangalore. To our great surprise, Aruna eased into song and filled our home with the most beautiful operatic mezzo soprano that I have ever heard!  … Continue reading →

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8 of 30: Death and the Maiden . Written by Ariel Dorfman Directed by Ashish Sen . Featuring Arundhati Raja, Jagdish Raja and Salmin Sheriff . A woman awaits the return of her husband as the sun goes down. The dictatorship that plagued her land has just fallen, and everything is uncertain. The woman is full of fear, gripped by a secret terror that she shares only with the man she loves. During the night and the day that follows she will have to confront that fear, she will have to bring justice in her living room….. . Ariel Dorfman’s Death and The Maiden traverses the personal and the political, powerfully cutting across geographical and cultural divides. Inspired by Chile and Argentina in the 1970s and 80s, its drama finds resonance in many parts of the world--in Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Iran etc. . . . . . . . . . . #throwback #flashbackfriday #flashback #bangalore #india #theatre #theatrelife #theatrekid #stage #productionhouse
7 of 30: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Aug 2012 . Written by Dale Wasserman Directed by @arundhatiraja . One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which launched Artiste’s Repertory Theatre (ART) in 1982, returned to Chowdiah Memorial Hall as part of The Hindu MetroPlus Theatre Fest in August 2012 . Featuring Sai Krishna, Jimmy Xavier, Veena Sajnani, Rebecca Spurgeon, Roy Sinai, Anshul Pathak, Noel Manasseh, Sanjay Iyer, Arjuna Shankar, Rajeev Ravindranathan, Nakul Bhalla, Ajith Hande and Polina Schapova . Stage manager: Rituparna Bhattacharya Set designer: Shubhra Nayar Lighting designer: Gautam Raja Assistant SM: Renzin Khan . Originally a novel by Ken Kesey, Cuckoo's captured the radical and anti-establishment mood of the 1960s. Tyrannical Nurse Ratched rules her psychiatric ward with an iron fist and a penchant for electroshock therapy. Into her ordered domain enters the boisterous Randle P. McMurphy, intent on disruption and showing the other patients a good time. A titanic battle of wills emerges. The play was written in 1963, one year after the novel was published, and this funny yet poignant drama explores the boundaries between conformity and individuality, sanity and madness with devastating effect. . Arundhati Raja directed the original production and is at the helm in 2012 as well. She says, “Directing it again 30 years later, it has been a different journey. I see how my experience and learning curve over the years has changed my directorial approach. The play lends itself to overt comedy, but I hope to have eked out more sensitive performances from my actors.” . . . . . . . . . #throwback #flashbackfriday #flashback #bangalore #india #theatre #theatrelife #theatrekid #stage #productionhouse
6 of 30: The Dreams of Tipu Sultan . Written by Girish Karnad Directed by @arundhatiraja . Featuring: Harish Sheshadri, Ankur Kela, Siddarth Saxena, Bimal R. Satyan, Parthiv Shah, Ranvijay Pratap Singh, Kanchan Bhattacharyya, Roy Sinai, Jagdish Raja, Vivek Madan, Kshitija Jayanth, Sanjay Iyer, Rijul Ray, Swati De, Abhiijeet Ramakrishna Shetty, Vasundhara Das, Nikhil Bharadwaj. . Lighting Design: Arghya Lahiri . Girish Karnad weaves all this into a story embellished from a notebook discovered in Tipu’s room by the British after Tipu’s defeat. A book in which the Tiger of Mysore recorded his dreams, the most compelling one being of a united India to oust the British – 250 years before we finally managed to do it! . First performed in 2004 the play was highly acclaimed. The figure of Tipu Sultan has continued to dominate Indian and British imagination for over two centuries, as the endless flow of scholarly works, ballads, plays and novels about his tempestuous life and tragic end testifies. What, however, is less well known is that this man, who spent a large part of his life on horseback, maintained a record of his dreams, which he kept concealed from his nearest associates. The Dreams of Tipu Sultan examines the inner life of this warrior, political visionary, and dreamer. The story follows the last days as well as the historic moments in the life of the Ruler of Mysore, Tipu Sultan, through the eyes of an Indian court historian and a British Oriental scholar. . . . . . . . #throwback #flashbackfriday #flashback #bangalore #india #theatre #theatrelife #theatrekid #stage #productionhouse #history #indianhistory #india #culture #historic
#5 of 30: The Invisible River Oct 2012 . Written by @gautamraja Directed by Vivek Madan . Featuring: Anumeha Fatehpuria, Aryan Jagtap, Sachin Gurjale, Jimmy Xavier, Archana Srivatsan and Poile Sengupta. . The first run of the show was directed by Ruchika Chanana and featured Pritham Kumar, Sukhita Aiyar, Harish Seshadri, Veena Appiah and Joshua Saldanha . The Ganga: Key to the hearts of 80 % of India’s population. A goddess revered, a goddess defiled. Does science always oppose religion? Is there a scientific basis for the sacredness of the river Ganges? If so, what would the politico-religious nexus do with this information? A colourful cast of characters including a self-promoting priest, a scheming politician and a canny street urchin reveals that in India, everything is interconnected, and nothing is as simple as it seems. . When Uma, a young scientist from Bangalore, arrives in Allahabad to investigate the possibility that the Ganga could be a starting point of a new era of disease eradication, she sets off a ripple effect that impacts the lives of several people. Dr. Ajay, a government doctor and staunch believer in cleaning up the river, represents the conventional wisdom of the medical profession entangled with his personal demons—a mother obsessed with religion, dying slum children, and a government that just doesn’t care. . . . . . . . . #throwback #flashbackfriday #flashback #bangalore #india #theatre #theatrelife #theatrekid #stage #productionhouse
#4 of 30: Twist of Lime March 2012 . Written by Anita Nair Directed by Vivek Madan . Featuring: Vandana Prabhu, Padmaja Nagarur, Rahul George, @mirchirjjimmy , Shobita Mampilly, @rijulray, @polka.photos Stage Manager: @pazz.shan Lighting design: Arghya Lahiri . Bestselling author Anita Nair, adapts three of her short stories for the stage, tying them together with a thread of irony that will make you laugh and wince, all at once. Sushil and the Maybe Virgin Half a Sin Trespass . . . . . . . #throwback #flashbackfriday #flashback #bangalore #india #theatre #theatrelife #theatrekid #stage #productionhouse
#3 of 30: Lysistrata (Dec 2011) . This post is a dedication to the director Jeff Teare, who is no longer with us. Here's to you, Jeff! . Swipe right for a behind the scenes look at rehearsals, warms ups and costume design! . Part of the first Jagriti Season, Lysistrata is a modern Indian adaptation of one of the few surviving plays written by Aristophanes, and originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, this is a comic account of one woman’s extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War. . . . . . . . . #throwback #flashbackfriday #flashback #bangalore #india #theatre #theatrelife #theatrekid #stage #productionhouse #whitefield #igersofbangalore #blr #instagood

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