If you log on to any ticketing platform and search for open-mic events that involve music, poetry, storytelling and other performance arts, you'll find that a majority of such venues tend to be centred around one suburb — Bandra. There are a few other spots, such as The Integral Space in Lower Parel, and a handful in the northern suburbs of the city, including Clap Centre in Malad. But the Queen of the Suburbs is the undisputed epicentre of performance arts venues in Mumbai. A place like Thane, on the other hand, is a barren land in comparison. And that's what prompted Waquar Rehman to launch Backspace in a mall in the satellite city, which will host a new property called Hooted at the Back this evening.

Waquar Rehman, the venue's founder, tells us, "I live in Thane and we had to go to Bandra for everything like stand-up comedy shows and poetry sessions because there was no space in Thane for people to go up on stage and perform their own material. So, we came up with the idea for this place for those who usually backspace their thoughts, in the sense that they tell themselves, 'Some day I'm going to get up and learn guitar,' for instance."