There is a correction in this article that can be read at the end of this page.
Those unfamiliar with the bylanes of Dadar might have a tough time looking for Sitara Studio, an independent venue for cultural events including the upcoming theatre festival, Thespo. Obscured by battered garages, it is only a short walk away from the city head office of the Indian National Congress. It was less hidden 40 years ago when the cream of Marathi theatre rehearsed here, led by the late actor Prabhakar Panshikar, known for his performance in the classic To Mi Navhech. Current manager Nikhil Hemrajani and Thespo's artistic director Quasar Thakore Padamsee are hoping the festival will boost its legacy of drama.
When it began back in 1999, Thespo was a one-act play competition thrown together in a hurry. In later years, Padamsee's Q Theatre Productions (QTP), backed by Theatre Group Bombay, invited full-length plays to make it more challenging for participants who have to be under the age of 25. Since then, the event has grown to include workshops, a fringe section and musical shows.
Padamsee is excited about some firsts for the event. It will now showcase international collaborations, for instance the 'Violence Against Women Project', created by Gillian Clark, a Canadian interdisciplinary theatre artist. Marking two years since the Delhi gang rape, the presentation will include a discussion on sexual violence against women in urban India and Canada. The competition segment will also see a foreign participant in Sri Lanka's Walking Path, directed by Ruwanthie De Chickera.
British duo Rachael Clerke and Josephine Joy, known as Clerke and Joy, will present Falls 2-11, which was developed in partnership with the festival. Formed after reading a Wikipedia entry about US pilot William Rankin - the only person in recorded history to survive falling through a storm cloud - it explores the idea of falling. "What's interesting is that their work is in a middle space - between theatre and performance art," Padamsee observes.
It is also for the first time in eight years that the festival will move beyond the leafy surroundings of Prithvi Theatre in Juhu. This, organisers say, is because "Thespo is about new work with new people and so we wanted to move to a new space." Events in this 16th edition will be split between the two venues. Padamsee spotted potential in Sitara after renting it in February for the performance of an international play HeLa. "It has history and is in a location that badly needs a culture hub," he says.
After Panshikar's theatre company, Natya Sampada, stopped giving performances nearly two decades ago, it was converted into Sitara Studio and rented out to film and ad crews. The grungy studio began exploring alternative uses as that business declined after demand moved closer to where actors live in Andheri and Bandra. A wall with violently peeling paint - not carefully crafted as in the case of some hipster joints today - is actually the result of a leakage problem. The dank warehouse appeal works with overseas groups, says Hemrajani, who has hosted dance and dubstep groups. Other than the one-storey building's ageing body, old-world elements like wooden benches and steep stairwells have remained intact. Getting licences for live shows itself is expensive, he observes.
From around 50, three years ago, entries for the festival rose to around 180 this time, says Padamsee who himself is yet to see plays from the final selection. They were shortlisted by a team of curators and the competition will be evaluated by a jury that includes actors like Joy Sengupta and Kumud Mishra. Among the platform performances will be Hum Ghum Ho Gaye by Manchtantra, a Delhi-based collective. The play, which won an award for its maiden performance at BITS Pilani, deals with denotified and nomadic tribes whose members are marginalised despite numbering as many as 10 crore. "They have no identity. They are invisible in a crowd," says writer and director Aniket Jaiswal.
Jaiswal and his team spent a month interviewing people from such tribes and watched documentaries on the subject. While on the field, they met nats (dancers), and madaris (street performers with animals). "We know that a play will not change anything. My only target was to give them a voice." Similar on-ground research went into De Chickera's Walking Path, which is in the full-length play category. They sat on walking paths, which have mushroomed in Sri Lanka as part of a post-war beautification drive, and observed ongoings silently for hours. This exercise in devised theatre, which experiments before fixing a script, resulted in a wordless play.
Normal, directed by Khushboo Upadhyay, is another play in the competition that used improvisational techniques during its creation. It is a Hindi translation of Anthony Neilson's play by the same name and will be performed by members of the Mumbai-based Now group, comprised mainly of FTII alumni. Rather than adapting or finding a translator, Upadhyay asked her actors to speak as they would in real life." As in the original, the Hindi version is set in 1930s Germany.
From an annual event, Thespo has become a round-the-year concept, says Padamsee. They have been curating workshops and mentoring emerging talent since February this year. Its popularity is somewhat bitter-sweet for him. "I have had people asking when my plays will open but when I started talking of my ventures, they stopped me and said - No, we meant Thespo."
Correction: An earlier version of this article identified Nikhil Hemrajani as owner of Sitara Studio when in fact he's the manager. The error is regretted.
Those unfamiliar with the bylanes of Dadar might have a tough time looking for Sitara Studio, an independent venue for cultural events including the upcoming theatre festival, Thespo. Obscured by battered garages, it is only a short walk away from the city head office of the Indian National Congress. It was less hidden 40 years ago when the cream of Marathi theatre rehearsed here, led by the late actor Prabhakar Panshikar, known for his performance in the classic To Mi Navhech. Current manager Nikhil Hemrajani and Thespo's artistic director Quasar Thakore Padamsee are hoping the festival will boost its legacy of drama.
When it began back in 1999, Thespo was a one-act play competition thrown together in a hurry. In later years, Padamsee's Q Theatre Productions (QTP), backed by Theatre Group Bombay, invited full-length plays to make it more challenging for participants who have to be under the age of 25. Since then, the event has grown to include workshops, a fringe section and musical shows.
Padamsee is excited about some firsts for the event. It will now showcase international collaborations, for instance the 'Violence Against Women Project', created by Gillian Clark, a Canadian interdisciplinary theatre artist. Marking two years since the Delhi gang rape, the presentation will include a discussion on sexual violence against women in urban India and Canada. The competition segment will also see a foreign participant in Sri Lanka's Walking Path, directed by Ruwanthie De Chickera.
British duo Rachael Clerke and Josephine Joy, known as Clerke and Joy, will present Falls 2-11, which was developed in partnership with the festival. Formed after reading a Wikipedia entry about US pilot William Rankin - the only person in recorded history to survive falling through a storm cloud - it explores the idea of falling. "What's interesting is that their work is in a middle space - between theatre and performance art," Padamsee observes.
It is also for the first time in eight years that the festival will move beyond the leafy surroundings of Prithvi Theatre in Juhu. This, organisers say, is because "Thespo is about new work with new people and so we wanted to move to a new space." Events in this 16th edition will be split between the two venues. Padamsee spotted potential in Sitara after renting it in February for the performance of an international play HeLa. "It has history and is in a location that badly needs a culture hub," he says.
After Panshikar's theatre company, Natya Sampada, stopped giving performances nearly two decades ago, it was converted into Sitara Studio and rented out to film and ad crews. The grungy studio began exploring alternative uses as that business declined after demand moved closer to where actors live in Andheri and Bandra. A wall with violently peeling paint - not carefully crafted as in the case of some hipster joints today - is actually the result of a leakage problem. The dank warehouse appeal works with overseas groups, says Hemrajani, who has hosted dance and dubstep groups. Other than the one-storey building's ageing body, old-world elements like wooden benches and steep stairwells have remained intact. Getting licences for live shows itself is expensive, he observes.
From around 50, three years ago, entries for the festival rose to around 180 this time, says Padamsee who himself is yet to see plays from the final selection. They were shortlisted by a team of curators and the competition will be evaluated by a jury that includes actors like Joy Sengupta and Kumud Mishra. Among the platform performances will be Hum Ghum Ho Gaye by Manchtantra, a Delhi-based collective. The play, which won an award for its maiden performance at BITS Pilani, deals with denotified and nomadic tribes whose members are marginalised despite numbering as many as 10 crore. "They have no identity. They are invisible in a crowd," says writer and director Aniket Jaiswal.
Jaiswal and his team spent a month interviewing people from such tribes and watched documentaries on the subject. While on the field, they met nats (dancers), and madaris (street performers with animals). "We know that a play will not change anything. My only target was to give them a voice." Similar on-ground research went into De Chickera's Walking Path, which is in the full-length play category. They sat on walking paths, which have mushroomed in Sri Lanka as part of a post-war beautification drive, and observed ongoings silently for hours. This exercise in devised theatre, which experiments before fixing a script, resulted in a wordless play.
Normal, directed by Khushboo Upadhyay, is another play in the competition that used improvisational techniques during its creation. It is a Hindi translation of Anthony Neilson's play by the same name and will be performed by members of the Mumbai-based Now group, comprised mainly of FTII alumni. Rather than adapting or finding a translator, Upadhyay asked her actors to speak as they would in real life." As in the original, the Hindi version is set in 1930s Germany.
From an annual event, Thespo has become a round-the-year concept, says Padamsee. They have been curating workshops and mentoring emerging talent since February this year. Its popularity is somewhat bitter-sweet for him. "I have had people asking when my plays will open but when I started talking of my ventures, they stopped me and said - No, we meant Thespo."
Correction: An earlier version of this article identified Nikhil Hemrajani as owner of Sitara Studio when in fact he's the manager. The error is regretted.
The festival will be held at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu and Sitara Studio, Dadar from December 15 to 21