So much about 'going to the theatre' is true that -- soaking in the energy that the space exudes. It is this tactile, collective experience of witnessing a live performance that has been missed sorely during the lockdown and now that we are out of it, a guided tour of the NCPA theatres and libraries would feature on the itinerary of young theatre lovers who visit the NCPA during the festival. Students from colleges across Mumbai will be given a tour of our sprawling premises that boast five theatres, an art gallery, a reference library with a prized collection of books on Marathi theatre, scripts, and recordings of seminal plays and music libraries with an unmatched collection of records, LPs, cassettes, CDs and books on Western classical music as well as other styles of music. In the reference library, Sujata Jadhav, Head- of Libraries and Documentation Centre, will take the visitors through forms of theatre, their evolution, and recent trends as well as discuss distinguished Marathi theatre artistes and production houses. Nayan Kale, General Manager - Technical, at the NCPA -- who knows every detail about the unique acoustics of our theatres, has enabled the flawless execution of thousands of productions on our stages and is full of fascinating behind-the-scenes stories -- will conduct the Theatre tour.
When: Saturday, 6th May - 3.00 pm
Where: Assembly point - Sunken Gardens
For registration: Please write to theatre@ncpamumbai.com
Entry: Free for all - Prior Registration is Compulsory
Prasthan Urf Exit
On one level, Prasthan Urf Exit is about a married couple in their eighties. They have lived together for more than 50 years, loved, and fought with each other, had sex, worked through life, earned, and spent together, and had children who are now in the U.S.A. Today, they are lonely, tired, and ailing. They are both fearful of death and yet, they are ready for it. Funnily, death seems to be playing games with them because Yamadoota's malfunctioning app is unable to tell who among them is dead.
On a deeper level, the play is about the absurdity of life and death; about being aware of having spent a mediocre life, devoid of any intensity. It is about following different ideologies, but in such an insipid way that you have nothing more to show for it but minor superficial grudges. It is about the 'happiness industry' of these capitalist times which makes the higher middle classes selfish and rids them of guilt, and the realisation that there is no meaning to life but the one that we attribute to it to sustain us as humans beings. When these two levels intersect, what emerges is an absurdist tragicomedy.
Winner of three MaTa Sanmaan Awards 2023, including Best Actor, Best Playwright, and Best Experimental Play.
Marathi Play
Duration: 100 mins
Venue: Experimental Theatre
When: Saturday, 6th May - 4.00 pm
Tickets: Book My Show
Uchhaad
A licensed adaptation of Yasmina Reza's 2009 Tony Award-winning God of Carnage, the play portrays a meeting between two couples over a peaceful resolution of a minor altercation between their sons. The meeting slowly but surely escalates into different shapes and sizes of violence, tearing apart the veils of civility and exposing the conflict that lies at the heart of human coexistence.
This Marathi adaptation of the celebrated French play is set in urban India, where the fault lines of gender, class, and caste are casually visible. Uchhaad is full of subtle humour that plays on social rituals and the need to keep up appearances.
The play has completed 23 shows and has been staged in Pune, Mumbai, Kankavli, Belgaum, and Kolhapur. It won three Zee Natya Gaurav Puraskars for Best Play, Best Director, and Best Actress in a Lead Role. It was nominated for the MaTa Sanmaan Awards 2023, presented by Maharashtra Times, in the Best Play, Best Actor, and Best Director categories.
Marathi Play
Duration: 80 mins
Venue: Experimental Theatre
When: Saturday, 6th May - 7.30 pm
Tickets: Book My Show
Natyadisha, Theatre Workshop, Conducted by Abhijeet Zunjarrao
Abhijeet Zunjarrao has a diploma in Dramatic Arts from Mumbai University. He has won the prestigious Zee Natya Gaurav, MaTa Sanmaan, and the Maharashtra government award for the direction of his plays Lejhim Khelnari Pora and Breaking News. He has also worked as an associate director and actor for the National Award-winning film Dashkriya. He has been awarded the top honour for acting in the 48th Maharashtra State Drama competition. His plays have been showcased in different states at prestigious theatres all over the country. Zunjarrao has plenty of experience in light design, set design, operating lights, and sound, and managing backstage for theatre productions.
Objectives of the Workshop
Provide basic knowledge of theatre acting.
Provide basic information about Marathi theatre.
Practical study of theatre
Topics covered:
Basic elements of dramatic acting:
Voice modulation
Body movements
Facial expression exercises
Character building
Introduction to Drama and Theatre
A brief overview of Marathi Theatre
Technical Elements of Theatre (Objectives, Functions, and Methods of Work)
Set design.
Light design
Makeup
Music & background music
Theatre management
Venue: Sea View Room
When: Sunday, 7th May - 11.00 am to 2.30 pm
Workshop Fees: Rs. 500/-
For registration: Book My Show /email at theatre@ncpamumbai.com
Registration: Prior Registration is Compulsory
Limited seats
Priy Bhai, Ek Kavita Havi Aahe. Produced by Roopak and Presented by Jagar
A few students of medicine are occupied with the idea of organising a projection centred around the theme of freedom in poetry. The poem they have in mind is Rabindranath Tagore's 'Where the Mind is Without Fear' but it must be in Bengali, in the great poet's own handwriting. In their frantic search, a representative of the students approaches a couple with a soft spot for poetry -- Pu. La. Deshpande (fondly called Bhai) and Sunitabai, find themselves overwhelmed by this pursuit. And thus begins the unending quest. In the process, Sunitabai reads aloud a number of poems that have immensely enriched the couple. She also ruminates over the very nature of poetry and its inexplicable importance in life.
![The NCPA theatre division creates, presents, and hosts world-class theatre that entertains, challenges, and inspires. And the stage is abuzz with a fantastic line-up of presentations by artist. [IANS]](http://media.assettype.com/newsgram%2F2023-05%2F1a975cc7-cf15-494b-ab1b-b0a23af1d7f7%2F96dd34f241f5bff69dae59e3cbec16e2.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
![<div class="paragraphs"><p>So much about 'going to the theatre' is true that -- soaking in the energy that the space exudes. It is this tactile, collective experience of witnessing a live performance that has been missed sorely during the lockdown and now that we are out of it. [Wikimedia]</p></div>](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=)
