Soul to Stage

It’s a homecoming that was long overdue. The members of Manch Tantra — a theatre group formed a decade ago in Chandigarh by Ayushmann Khurrana,Aviral Gupta,Tahira Kashyap,Gurpreet Saini and Rochak Kohli — are back in action. Famous for plays such as Socha Na Tha (2003),Painter Babu (2004),Give Peace a Chance (2005),Jab Sheher Hamara Sota Hai (2006),Khoon Chala (2007) and Salt & Pepper (2008,2009), the group was formed by a bunch of college students.

After five years,they are now where they belong — on stage — with a brand new production titled Souled Out. The play is based on Kashyap’s book of the same name,a collection of short stories bound by a melange of emotions,with Kashyap also directing the play. “This is what I am nervous as well as excited about,’’ says Kashyap,who was part of the first production of Manch Tantra as an actor,and returns to theatre after more than eight years.

Kashyap has chosen four stories for the production,and these have been adapted into four one-act plays,with three actors Gupta,Gandhi and Sharma,telling their stories using minimal props. “Having authored the stories,I had a vision of how they could be presented on stage,and so the role of a director came to me,” she adds.

The four stories include the story of a prostitute desperate to control the fate of her unborn child,an eccentric watchman’s heart-wrenching ordeal,an athlete dealing with her fate,and a lover who can’t get Bollywood out of himself. Manch Tantra will be holding this year’s auditions in October to encourage new talent in theatre.

The play will be staged at Tagore Theatre,Sector 18,today and tomorrow,7 pm onwards. It will also be performed in Delhi on October 6,at Alliance Francaise.

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