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Journalism of Courage
Mumbai sure has a space for everyone. Things happen here, as they say and not just in big hotels, clubs and auditoriums. We decided to explore last weekend. To step out of the NCPA and Prithvi and see what’s theatre outside their confines. And what we witnessed was quite heartening. The Bharatiya Vidya Bhvan Kala Kendra, the cultural centre conspicuously located at Chowpatty, has it sown experimental theatre wing, which stages plays within its limited means, every other Saturday. They are novices and students who are there for the sheer love of theatre. Four spotlights with dimmers, a couple of platforms, tables and chair. No costumes, no sets, no mikes even. The group performed three one-act plays last Saturday — Tamasha of Humanity, Bela Ke Phool and Freestyle Gawahi — surprisingly fresh and zealous, in spite of minor production hitches. But what struck us most was the way the audience responded. A slice of the city’s hoi polloi gathered — youngsters, elderly couples and children –gathered to appreciate the works. And they seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed in return.
with the crowd tapping to their Jazz ensemble. Coming back to the site itself, talentduniya is a free site for musicians and artists, where they can upload their music, after which they can receive feedabck from listeners and eventually, they can sell their music online. Sounds like the perfect platform? Well, before you log on, the company wants us to remind you that talentduniya is only for talented people.
And finally…
The offbeat Cafe hosted a play after quite a while this Sunday, what with one of the city’s most active theatre groups, The Company Theatre, performing Moliere’s Sganerelle yet again for a select audience. While it was a pleasant performance, with Sheeba Chada at her histrionic best, the overall response was lukewarm. A few of those who made reservations for the play, did not turn up, because of which, the performance got delayed. The actors waited and waited and then made an entry into Silly Point, the sports bar, to make people aware that a play was waiting to be appreciated next door. All that made a slight difference, but not many seemed to be interested to pay a cover charge to watch Moliere. No sweat for Atul Kumar and his group, though. A festival of their plays are already under way at the Prithvi.
