All of Mumbai's a stage: Revisit the city's theatre history through this immersive session

Jiya Somaiya and Ramu Ramanathan (right) at the launch of his book, Mumbai Murmurings: 213 Tiny Tales of Theatre

To celebrate the release of Mumbai Murmurings: 213 Tiny Tales of Theatre, the Bombay Local History Society is hosting a discussion at a venue in Khar. Author and playwright Ramu Ramanathan will be in conversation with actor-director Jaimini Pathak about the histories, anecdotes and personalities that shaped Mumbai's theatre culture.

(From left) Mama Warerkar (left) and CG Kolhatkar; (right) a performance of Urubhangam, an example of early regional drama. Pics courtesy/Wikimedia Commons; Ramu Ramanathan

The book brings together 213 short tales from the city's theatre ecosystem, covering backstage incidents, forgotten figures and memories from Mumbai's multi-lingual performance scene. Speaking about the inspiration behind the project, Ramanathan said the idea emerged during the pandemic while he conducted online workshops and lecture demonstrations. "Some of my theatre students and college students requested me to compile the anecdotes and stories into a book which is easy to read," he recalled.

As part of his research, Ramanathan revisited several Marathi theatre autobiographies and biographies. He described works by Mama Warerkar and Gangaram Gavankar as particularly influential, along with writings on Annabhau Sathe and Chintamani Ganesh Kolhatkar.

Reflecting on Mumbai's theatre culture today, Ramanathan notes that the city continues to stage more than 1000 performances every month across Marathi, Hindustani, Gujarati and English theatre. He also highlights the rise of smaller indie venues over the past decade, saying these intimate spaces have helped democratise theatre in the city.

ON May 31; 4.30 pm onwards
AT Idoru, Sunrise Cooperative Society, Khar West.
LOG ON TO @local_bombay (to register)
ENTRY Revealed upon registration