The curtain rises

In a city where space is at a premium only few look at a piece of land as a possible sanctuary for the arts Forty years after Shashi Kapoor ploughed money into a plot in Juhu to keep his fathers legacy and love for the performing arts alive the aptly named Prithvi Theatre has thrived even as the world around it continues to be cast in the glassandsteel mould of skyscrapersA witness to its evolution is the annual Prithvi Festival which has been a platform for new plays fringe theatre and talks on stagecraft This year the celebrations that mark the venues 40th anniversary are special They begin with a bang on November 3 the 112th birth anniversary of Prithviraj Kapoor with the revival of his play Deewar From conversations with veteran and contemporary thespians including Mohan Agashe and Kalki Koechlin to the finale where Argentine composers will be in sync with the Symphony Orchestra of India there is much to look forward toHeres our mustwatch list handpicked by theatre artistes and Prithvi regularsFrom November 4 to 12 At Prithvi Theatre and Prithvi House Juhu Royal Opera House Girgaum G5A Mahalaxmi Log on to bookmyshowcom Call 26149546From the house of MotleyAfter the critically acclaimed production The Father which had monthlong runs in venues across the city another Florian Zeller play that will premiere at the festival is The Truth Directed by Ratna Pathak Shah with Naseeruddin Shah Meher Mistry and Shruti Vyas in the lead the play portrays complex modernday relationships that appear to be on shaky ground and yet manage to find their feet The Truth like The Father has been translated from French by Christopher HamptonWith a formidable team the play is on the list of most theatre lovers we spoke to mdash Patel is planning to catch the premiere while actor and literature student Vara Raturi will be watching a show tooShernaz Patel Theatre director and actorAll the plays seem quite different from each other which is what you want from a festival There is enough for not just a Prithvi goer but a general theatre goer tooSukant Goel Theatre artisteIts an overwhelming feeling when you think of the number of artistes who have embraced its stage in these years and that a privately run institution has managed to thrive in the city and maintain its reputation for decadesVara Raturi Actor and studentI watched a Motley production at Prithvi on my first day in Mumbai last year and instantly fell in love with the place Creativity is in the air the people are talented and the shows are amazing to watch on its arenastyle stageMulticultural dramaA scene from Arabian NightA performance that theatre artiste Sukant Goel recommends is the dramatised reading Arabian Night directed by Sapan Saran Its a brilliant script and with Sapans direction it takes an interesting form he says about the play where individuals from the East and West cross paths He also plans to watch Eugene Ionescos Rhinoceros which is also on Raturis list Theres something about the theatre of the Absurd that stirs something in me right from the moment I read Waiting for Godot and Camuss essays The inclination makes me excited for Rhinoceros which is written by the great absurdist writer Ionesco and is being directed by Gagan Dev Riar she saysTales from the pavementRupali Rahul Piyush Chitransh and Tarun Shukla in a scene from the FootpathThe festivals lineup of experimental plays apart from Deewar is what Goel is looking forward to watching I will be catching a show of Divya Jagdales Footpath I have watched The Way I See It and Toxic which she has directed or acted in And I enjoy Divyas madness he says Footpath is a conversation between an elderly man who loses his job as a watchman in a housing society a young auto driver and a young prostitute With their own takes on life the conversation that takes place on a footpath spans history politics and morality as day gives way to nightBack to the beginningA scene from DeewarA play that theatre actor and director Shernaz Patel has marked her calendar for is Deewar Revived after more than 70 years the new version of the play written by Prithviraj Kapoor has been directed by Sunil Shanbag and includes Sudhir Pande Trishla Patel Kalyanee Mulay Raghav Dutt and Abhinav Grover in the cast Whats special is that Deewar the opening play of the festival will be staged at the Royal Opera House where it premiered in 1945 So its a reminder of where it all began and gives you an idea of the history of Prithvi Theatre she says Patel is also looking forward to watching the fringe theatre productionsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates