Journey to Globe

The adaptations of both these Shakespearean dramas have resulted in musicals. “When I read Twelfth Night,I could visualise it with music,” says Kumar,who is directing a musical for the first time. Peppy folk music and dance apart,he wanted to keep the dialogues of the Hindi version full of banter and oodles of impishness. Unlike Kumar,Shanbag has been working with live music on stage for some time now and for this play,he has used the folk tradition of Bhangwadi. However,Maro Piyo is his first Gujarati play.

While rehearsing,both the groups also have to keep in mind the rules laid down by Globe Theatre. The crew should not exceed 12 while the performance time is 105 minutes. The duration has demanded massive editing of the original text. “However,we have kept the essence of the play intact,” says Shanbag,adding that the group has two extra members at its own expense. All’s Well…has often been criticised for showing that its hero accepts the heroine’s love in the end all too fast after rejecting it throughout the play. So this Gujarati version has ensured that there is enough hint of chemistry between them,before the happy ending.

Post the rehearsals,Maro Piyo actors head for a costume photoshoot. “We have changed the setting of All’s Well… from France to Saurashtra,Mumbai,and Rangoon of the early 1900s. The costume has been created keeping that time in mind,” says Shanbag. The Baranvi Raat team too takes a break and over the evening snacks start discussing their costumes. Not each one of them is happy with the way the costumes have turned out. But they have very little time in hand to fix them as they were scheduled to take the flight on Tuesday. With their shows scheduled on April 27 and 28,these issues can wait till the play’s India premiere.

Maro Piyo will be staged at Globe Theatre on May 23 and 24. Before that,it will open in Mumbai,on April 29 at 7:45 pm at Bhavan,Chowpatty and on May 1 at 3:45pm at Tejpal Hall.