 "Theatre takes centre stage")
If there is an example of how a show can be held together by a single powerful performance, then it is The Siddhus of Upper Juhu, a play by the newly-founded Aadyam, an initiative of the Aditya Birla Group to provide a platform for the arts.
Rajit Kapoor (Bubbles), with his wispy electric shock-styled hair, plays the part of a cantankerous, agitated and defeated - but well-paid - executive who is slowly crumbling under the weight of life lived to perfection in chaotic Mumbai.
The strength of his performance alone holds the play together, although Shernaz Patel (as Bubbles's wife, Behroze) also does a commendable job.
His wry sense of humour and exasperation at the world around him, including the patience required to keep up with the endlessly changing technology (pehle Flipkart and now Quikr, WhatsApp and the pinging), keep the audience hanging on to his every word.
You can't help but like Bubbles as the play progresses and identify more and more with what he is experiencing. He's funny, cute, warm and loveable. His command over Punjabi is surprisingly quick and strong. His timing is impeccable as are his expressions.
The first half of the play - taut, dialogue-heavy and full of humour - is an interchange between Bubbles and his loyal, devoted wife, Behroze, where Bubbles is beginning to crack under the pressures. When he comes back to find his house robbed one day and when he breaks the news of his being fired to his wife, Bubbles's weariness with the world around him is complete. He's fed up with life in Mumbai and in his 2 BHK apartment that has cost him his life's savings. He takes out his frustrations on his neighbours, colleagues and the world around him - in fact on anything and everything, but his wife.
With Behroze's unwavering love and confidence in her husband, the relationship between the couple remains a pillar of strength for Bubbles. It is a relationship - warm and committed - many would envy.
The second half of the play introduces the three siblings of Bubbles who come to support him in his hour of need as he has a nervous breakdown. Goldie, Pammi and Smiley, his brother and two sisters from Gurgaon, Ludhiana and Gurdaspur, are exactly what you expect from a middle class-Punjabi family - all sugar and honey to face and more concerned with creating the right impression (dikhawa) than actually supporting their troubled brother. The falsity of their promises rings a true bell even as Behroze - the Parsi in their midst - tries to grapple with something alien to her. In the end, however, Bubbles's rich older brother, Goldie, does come to his sibling's rescue and proves as good as his word. The play ends on an "all's-well-that-ends-well" note and leaves the audience happy.
If you are looking for a deep meaning or lasting impressions, The Siddhus of Upper Juhu is not the play to watch. But if you want a light-hearted, entertaining evening with no takeaways, this show will not disappoint.
And for the rest, the Aadyam festival has put together a range of performances to be shown across Delhi and Mumbai over the next two months. There are four other plays - William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon (the only play in Hindi), Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of Baskervilles and God of Carnage (an original French production) - by different production houses and directors. Mumbai-based production houses like Rage Theatre, QTP, Masque Theatre, AKVarious and Arpana Theatre will present five new plays scheduled in Mumbai and Delhi through July and August. You can't miss them if you tried.
For schedule and tickets, visit www.aadyam.co.in
The Siddhus of Upper Juhu
Director: Rahul DaCunha
Cast: Rajit Kapur, Shernaz Patel, Meera Khurana, Kajli Sharma and Shishir Sharma
The story of a Sikh-Parsi couple who pour their savings into a flat in Mumbai’s Juhu that becomes a living nightmare.
Director: Akash Khurana
Cast: Arghya Lahiri, Karan Pandit, Vivaan Shah
For those familiar with the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous detective duo, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, this rendition offers a humorous perspective to the classic text.
Director: Vickram Kapadia
Cast: Yuki Ellias, Luke Kenny, Rajeev Siddhartha, Vickram Kapadia, Neil Bhoopalam and others
A production of the famed Shakespearean drama by Indian theatre group Masque.
Director: Sunil Shanbag
Cast: Utkarsh Mazumdar, Meenal Patel, Satchit Puranik, Ajay Jairam, Avantika Ganguly and others
A play set between Gujarat and Bombay (now Mumbai) at the turn of the last century, when the latter was reaping the benefits of a flourishing opium trade.
Director: Nadir Khan
Cast: Sohrab Ardeshir, Shernaz Patel, Zafar Karachiwala, Anu Menon
A popular French drama that saw a Broadway version too, this play revolves around an altercation between two children at a playground, an injury and a meeting between their parents — where all gloves come off.
Rajit Kapoor (Bubbles), with his wispy electric shock-styled hair, plays the part of a cantankerous, agitated and defeated - but well-paid - executive who is slowly crumbling under the weight of life lived to perfection in chaotic Mumbai.
The strength of his performance alone holds the play together, although Shernaz Patel (as Bubbles's wife, Behroze) also does a commendable job.
His wry sense of humour and exasperation at the world around him, including the patience required to keep up with the endlessly changing technology (pehle Flipkart and now Quikr, WhatsApp and the pinging), keep the audience hanging on to his every word.
You can't help but like Bubbles as the play progresses and identify more and more with what he is experiencing. He's funny, cute, warm and loveable. His command over Punjabi is surprisingly quick and strong. His timing is impeccable as are his expressions.
The first half of the play - taut, dialogue-heavy and full of humour - is an interchange between Bubbles and his loyal, devoted wife, Behroze, where Bubbles is beginning to crack under the pressures. When he comes back to find his house robbed one day and when he breaks the news of his being fired to his wife, Bubbles's weariness with the world around him is complete. He's fed up with life in Mumbai and in his 2 BHK apartment that has cost him his life's savings. He takes out his frustrations on his neighbours, colleagues and the world around him - in fact on anything and everything, but his wife.
With Behroze's unwavering love and confidence in her husband, the relationship between the couple remains a pillar of strength for Bubbles. It is a relationship - warm and committed - many would envy.
The second half of the play introduces the three siblings of Bubbles who come to support him in his hour of need as he has a nervous breakdown. Goldie, Pammi and Smiley, his brother and two sisters from Gurgaon, Ludhiana and Gurdaspur, are exactly what you expect from a middle class-Punjabi family - all sugar and honey to face and more concerned with creating the right impression (dikhawa) than actually supporting their troubled brother. The falsity of their promises rings a true bell even as Behroze - the Parsi in their midst - tries to grapple with something alien to her. In the end, however, Bubbles's rich older brother, Goldie, does come to his sibling's rescue and proves as good as his word. The play ends on an "all's-well-that-ends-well" note and leaves the audience happy.
If you are looking for a deep meaning or lasting impressions, The Siddhus of Upper Juhu is not the play to watch. But if you want a light-hearted, entertaining evening with no takeaways, this show will not disappoint.
And for the rest, the Aadyam festival has put together a range of performances to be shown across Delhi and Mumbai over the next two months. There are four other plays - William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon (the only play in Hindi), Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of Baskervilles and God of Carnage (an original French production) - by different production houses and directors. Mumbai-based production houses like Rage Theatre, QTP, Masque Theatre, AKVarious and Arpana Theatre will present five new plays scheduled in Mumbai and Delhi through July and August. You can't miss them if you tried.
For schedule and tickets, visit www.aadyam.co.in
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Director: Rahul DaCunha
Cast: Rajit Kapur, Shernaz Patel, Meera Khurana, Kajli Sharma and Shishir Sharma
The story of a Sikh-Parsi couple who pour their savings into a flat in Mumbai’s Juhu that becomes a living nightmare.
Director: Akash Khurana
Cast: Arghya Lahiri, Karan Pandit, Vivaan Shah
For those familiar with the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous detective duo, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, this rendition offers a humorous perspective to the classic text.
Director: Vickram Kapadia
Cast: Yuki Ellias, Luke Kenny, Rajeev Siddhartha, Vickram Kapadia, Neil Bhoopalam and others
A production of the famed Shakespearean drama by Indian theatre group Masque.
Director: Sunil Shanbag
Cast: Utkarsh Mazumdar, Meenal Patel, Satchit Puranik, Ajay Jairam, Avantika Ganguly and others
A play set between Gujarat and Bombay (now Mumbai) at the turn of the last century, when the latter was reaping the benefits of a flourishing opium trade.
Director: Nadir Khan
Cast: Sohrab Ardeshir, Shernaz Patel, Zafar Karachiwala, Anu Menon
A popular French drama that saw a Broadway version too, this play revolves around an altercation between two children at a playground, an injury and a meeting between their parents — where all gloves come off.