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Snapshots from the stage

P. ANIMA

The Old World Theatre Fest unfolding over the weekend presents an alluring mix of domestic and international productions.

The theatre festival begins this Sunday and will continue till Dec 12.

Photos Anu Pushkarna.

A peek Vignette from the Collegiate Drama segment

Some provide a commentary on society, a few halt time to re-discover legends, others are tales that toy with emotions and there is also a promise of glamour and music – the sixth edition of The Old World Theatre Festival is a mixed bag.

Spread across 11 days, seven plays – each giving a different slice of life – will bring alive the stage at the India Habitat Centre. An eclectic mix of veterans and promising young directors like Robert Shearman, Lillete Dubey, Anahita Uberoi, Raell Padamsee and Manav Kaul among other noted names will present their plays for the theatre lovers. The festival this year is presented by the Delhi-based company Matrix Cellular Services Private Limited.

The international mark at the festival would be “Mistaken…Annie Besant in India” directed by Chris Banfield and penned by Rukhsana Ahmed that traces the eventful journey of an extraordinary woman. The Delhi-based Shaw’s Corner aimed at keeping alive the George Bernard Shaw legacy, will stage “Village Wooing” and “Pygmalion Not Likely,” both presented by Raymond Daniel-Davies and Pat Boothman. Another feature of the festival will be the Collegiate Drama segment that showcases productions by students chosen from different colleges of the Capital.
Fresh talent



From the press conference.

Hailing the significance of this segment, Feroz Abbas Khan, trustee and director of “Gandhi – My Father”, said, “The tradition of the inter-collegiate drama competitions are a way to spot fresh talent.” Lillete Dubey, presenting Vijay Tendulkar’s “Kanyadaan”, written about 26 years ago, was eloquent about the play. “It is a traditional drama and a wonderful exhibition of the craft of writing,” she said. Emphasising the relevance of the play in the present time, Dubey said, “We feel we do not need to revive classics.” There is a need to re-interpret texts and do plays over and over again if they have an important message to convey, she added.

Anahita Uberoi, who has worked both on and off Broadway, comes to the festival with “Bombay Black.” “It has almost become a superstition for me to bring a play to the Old World Theatre Festival,” said Anahita. The play, set in present day Mumbai, is written by young novelist and playwright Anosh Irani. “After a break of four years, I was looking for material and that’s when Shiamak told me about the script he found in Canada. When I read it, I knew I had to perform it,” she said. The play about a mujra singer and her blind client flits between reality, magic realism and fantasy. “It is a complete maze,” said the director.

Manav Kaul’s “Ilhaam” is the playwright’s “reaction to everything that happens around us.” Dwelling on the subject of enlightenment, it portrays what happens to an ordinary man when he stumbles on “enlightenment” unexpectedly. The drama unfolds through the character of Bhagwan. “Everything that is said in the play is as important as that is left unsaid,” said the director.

A dash of glamour will be Raell Padamsee’s “Razmatazz” – a musical performed by Sharon Prabhakar and eight dancers. College students also presented vignettes of the plays in store in the Collegiate Drama segment. “Eleven plays, six in English and five in Hindi will be part of the segment,” said theatre critic Keval Arora.