Yeh hai Filmistan meri jaan

Bought my tickets for the Osian Cinefan fest. Looking forward to Mumbai Cutting.

Penultimate weekend @ Theatre Utsav

Past is Stimulation was wistful, with a gauzy green backdrop, similar to the outfits the women wore. A scene involving partial nudity evoked gasps of shock from the audience.

I liked Nati Binodini. The humour, the action which resulted from having multiple actors play the lead, ensured the subject was deftly treated.

Charandas was as usual delighful. The lead was impressive, as was the music, dance and other actors.

Burqavaganza was awful. Pakistan artistes used the burqa to make digs at everything and everyone, but the humour was gross.

Stay yet Awhile was yet another docu-drama which had Gandhi and Tagore.

Am taking a break from the festival for a couple of days.

Antigone by Motley

Naseeruddin Shah as King Creon and Ratna Pathak Shah as Antigone, Benjamin Gilani and others drew in audiences as they performed Jean Anouilih's version of the classic.
Clever in parts, static in others, the acting kept the play together.

Phedre in India, Phedre in Hindi

Saw a packed house at Bahumukh. People were sitting on stage too. The diya lit stage, live tabla etc, Indian dances and transgressive plot kept the audience riveted.
The queen falls in love with her husband's son.
A French woman read in her language while subtitles flashed above the stage. The internal dilemma thus came through very well.

Aurangzeb

saw some impassioned acting. The cold in my head had taken me over, though.

Bamboo Blues

Pina Bausch's performance, Siri Fort: The yearning dance mirrored the plaintive music, the billowing stage. The sheer freedom, violence, trust between the dancers took stage turn by turn.

1st Weekend@ Theatre Utsav

Saturday saw Delirium by a Swiss group and Njinski, the God by a Polish troupe.

I liked the set, lighting, music and slapstick in Delirium. The story was more tell than show.

Njinski, the God too had a slick set, with competent dancing, lights and music. The constant homoerotic references took over the storyline.

Sunday saw an Afghani production of Caucasian Chalkcircle. It had a beautiful scene, where one of the women walks up a ladder with her babe held high, and men trailing sating on the rungs of the ladder as she climbs to its top. It reminded us strongly of Mary and Jesus, as a child in the audience pointed that out to his mother.

Dear Bapu by Mohan Maharishi had a trio standing around and reading. Very historical, the play showed shots from Gandhi's life as he spoke with Nehru. English with a smattering of Hindi, the play was more a documentary.

Butterflies are free, from China saw decent acting, a witty script and fast paced action. Although more like a film, which it has been adapted in, it still engaged the audience. Highlights were when the heroine reveals her wig and false eyelashes, surprising the hero and us.

Max Mueller showed a documentary on Pina Bausch, whose dance drama Bamboo Blues, inspired by Kolkata; (where she spent weeks recently) is on view today.

IHC saw a duo from UK read from Shaw's plays on Friday. Very lively, Shaw seems relevant still. The lady was indignant over his being ignored by UK theatre troupes. Even in his 70s, he wove a spell on a woman 1/3rd his age.

The only perfect love affair is on paper.

Ratan Thiyam's Prologue: NSD Inauguration Theatre Utsav

The Golden Jubilee of the National School of Drama saw Shiela Dixit and Ebrahim Alkazi on one stage. Alkazi's 30 years in theatre, 16 of which were spent teaching at the NSD, were recalled by his students and himself.

He announced 2 Rs. 5 lakh prizes from the Mrs. Roshan Alkazi foundation, for MK Raina and Hema Singh.

Alkazi spoke of how NSD needs to modify the course to include film, even if it means lengthening the course duration, as theatre all over the world, is not a paying profession by itself.

Ratan Thiyam's Prologue was stylistically flawless. The synchronisation of the dancers and the musicians was perfect. The stage, the costumes, the acting all ensured that the audience was involved despite the performance being in Manipuri.

Subtitles would perhaps have added to our understanding of the story.

As the three week theatre fest kicks off, with international productions as well as indigenous ones, it is interesting to note that the house full ones are Indian. Also, the 10 rs. tickets are most in demand.

Delhi's love for theatre is likely to be satisfied this month.

As was mentioned last evening, NSD has taught its students to fight.

The good fight.

Altos

Chappal

Round not

Mulberry bushy

Mincey wincey spiderwomen.