Theatre

When I realized that a play by the famous actor Steve Martin, which had also drawn more than its fair share of controversy, was going to be staged by   Tahatto   a young Bangalore-based theatre group, I was very intrigued, and contrary to my usual habit of not travelling across town for a play, did so...and was not disappointed. Set in a Parisian bar in 1904, the play imagines a comical encounter between Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein, both of whom are in their early twenties and fully aware of their amazing potential. Not content with this, Steve Martin introduces…

Ranga Shankara & JustBooks CLC Shakespeare Play ReadingsAs a precursor to its annual Theatre Festival, Ranga Shankara will present play reading sessions. Three well-known Bangaloreans, Padmavati Rao (among Bangalore's best-known story-tellers), RJ Shraddha Chaudhary (the sweet voice over the radio all of us love to hear),the multi-faceted Vasanthi Hariprakash (ex-RJ, Radio City, NDTV's special correspondent, and writer) and Aarti Aney (from the Ranga Shankara team) will read Shakespeare's most-loved plays to children at JustBooks outlets across the city.Children above eight and adults are invited to these sessions at 11 AM on 30 Sep, 14 Oct and 21 Oct '12. Admission…

I have been following rafiki, a theatre group, from the time when they used to stage the plays of Athol Fugard, South African playwright and novelist.They stage plays with ideological contexts and started working with children in the field of theatre, too. I have seen their struggles and their hard times, and so it was with even more satisfaction than usual that I noted that they collaborating with “Toto Funds the Arts” (TFA) to stage an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s work at Ranga Shankara, on September 6th and 7th, 2012. A scene from Rafiki's play. Pic: Nitye Sood At first,…

Dreamscope Theatres’ play ‘The Forest’  was presented at JSS Auditorium in Jayanagar on August 5th. The play was written and directed by Puja Goel; she also is the founder of the group. She wrote the play 15 years ago. The Forest presents a play for children but sends a message to adults making them aware about the depleting forest. This play engages a child’s psychology and her decision to save the forest. The foresters. Pic: Abhishek Angad At the centre, the play is from the last remains of the earth-forest. The foresters, the flowers, trees, animals and butterflies, believe that…

You know how it goes. You’re sitting in a movie hall, watching Kahaani and Vidya Balan is almost being pushed in the path of a speeding train when woaaaa, goes the toddler sitting behind you with his parents. And all you can think is, why do parents need to get kids along for movies.  You do have a thought there, but hold on for a second, especially if children aren't part of the picture in your life at this moment. Once they are around, you may often have to eat words spoken in the pre-child era. Here are my top…

Gandhinagar locality is one of the oldest localities of Bangalore and is the centre of trade, commerce, entertainment and tourism. All the old business streets like Chickpet, Balepet, New Tharagupet, Avenue Road, Cottonpet, Raja Market and so many other hubs are in this locality. It separates Bangalore North and West from Bangalore South and East and hence acts as the main link between these zones. Despite so many important factors, this locality became popular mainly due to a record number of cinema houses that were located on the main road, as well as the surrounding roads. In fact Gandhinagar was…

Residents of Jayanagar and JP Nagar have a reason to smile. Karnataka’s Home and Transport minister R Ashoka inaugurated the renovated Chandragupta Maurya Playground on Saturday, May 19th, 2012. This playground is in Jayanagar 5th Block in 10th main. This playground, popular as Shalini ground after an old hotel which is demolished now, has a skating rink, net practice space, auditorium, and concrete gallery steps around the playground. This playground will be used for outdoor activities like cricket, football and volleyball among others. Children practicing cricket at newly inaugurated Chandragupta Maurya playground. Pic: Anisha Nair This 6.5 acre playground is…

Shut since 2004 with a pledge by the then Bangalore Mahanagara Palike that a refurbished theatre with state-of-the-art facilities in place would be re-opened, the theatre today lies decrepit.During the visit of then Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa  to the damaged site, revival of the theatre in 36 months was promised, but unfortunately the situation remains unchanged and is causing a huge loss to the state exchequer.  The project has been handed over to BDA by BBMP. Concerned authorities must look into the matter at the earliest and accelerate the reconstruction.⊕

This is Cult Entertainment's seventh production, after plays such as God by Woody Allen, and Black and White, adapted from the works of Rowan Atkinson. Their latest play, the Imaginary Invalid, had a successful showing earlier this month at Brigade MLR Center, JP Nagar, on the April 12th, and was performed at Kyra Theatre and Restaurant, Indiranagar on the April 15th.The protagonist of the play is Anthony Rathnam (Praveen Kumar), a Tamil Christian hypochondriac, who believes himself to be ill but doesn't quite know what he suffers from. He is forever convinced of the incurability of his condition and places…

Dramanon (Short for Dramatist Anonymous) is a theatre group whose fortunes I have followed ever since they "set up shop" in Bengaluru six years ago. I have reviewed every one of their productions, except for "Reservoir Dogs". A scene from the play. Pic: Deepa Mohan Their latest production is the intricately-wrought, witty play, "This", written by Melissa James Gibson. It is is a poignant comedy about four urban people, who, past the first blush of youth, are examining what the rest of their lives mean. Jane is a single mother, who's lost her husband a year ago; Marell and Tom…