The Laugh Lines

Do you like watching plays enough to pay for it? Thats the question that the Chandigarh Theatre Festival seems to be asking,even as it sets the stage for change.

Comic capers dominate the line-up at the forthcoming Chandigarh Theatre Festival

Do you like watching plays enough to pay for it? Thats the question that the Chandigarh Theatre Festival seems to be asking,even as it sets the stage for change. Instead of distributing free passes for its shows,the organisers the Department of Cultural Affairs,Chandigarh Administration and Tagore Theatre Society have tickets priced between Rs 100 and Rs 300. In a city that is used to watching gratis theatre performances,this move will be watched carefully. The five-day festival,starting September 17,however,has packed in enough crowd-pulling ingredients to make the festival a success.

To begin with,many plays are light-hearted family fare. Mumbai-based ANK Groups comedy Hai Mera Dil,directed by Dinesh Thakur,which opens the festival,is a case in point. A simple,domestic comedy,it deals with a hypochondriac businessman who misunderstands his family doctors telephonic conversation with a heart specialist and comes to the conclusion that he has only a few days to live. He begins frantic efforts to make life easier for his wife by pairing her off with her old college mate,buying plots in a cemetery and making his will.

Story continues below this ad

On the second day,Chandigarh-based Rani Balbir Kaur will stage Bhikhsu aur Ganika. The play,which marks Kaurs return to theatre after five years,revolves around a Buddhist monk and a courtesan whose souls are mistakenly exchanged by Yamdoot,the god of death. Amid the comic situations that follow,the play raises questions about ones own identity. Among the other rib-ticklers are the Paresh Rawal-starring Krishan vs Kanhaiya,and Mumbai-based theatre group,Yatris,classic Hadh Kar Di Apne.

Director Salim Arifs play,Lakeerein,makes a Bollywood reference. Lakeerein is based on a story and poems of Gulzar and has actor Yashpal Sharma playing the lead.

Tickets are available at Tagore Theatre.

Time: 10 am-5 pm.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram