Road relief

Pickings

For Indians starved of comic relief, here's a chance to have a belly laugh. Kicking off on August 22 in Delhi, McDowell's takes three plays on a four-city tour.

Called the McDowell's Signature Theatre Fest, the programme will showcase some of Mumbai's premier English language actors. The festival will also be held in Pune, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

Theatre lovers can check out histrionic talents in The Good, The Bad and The Googly (directed by Dinyar Contractor), My Best Friend's Wedding (dir: Sundeep Sikaand) and Laughing Wild (dir: Raell Padamsee).

In The Good..., the spotlight is on a Parsi family, where the father Kantilal lives in dread of his son Digambar. Kantilal's father's spirit enters Digambar's body every day and rebukes Kantilal for being irresponsible.

The farce is heightened when the local MLA arrives with a marriage proposal for Kantilal's daughter. The hilarious climax has Kantilal's wife making a shocking announcement.

In My Best Friend's Wedding the mysterious presence of a woman in the bridegroom's bed creates a flutter. Matters are resolved, temporarily when the bridegroom's best friend steps in declares that the woman is his new girlfriend. Things take on a screwball turn when the friend's real girlfriend turns up.

Obviously the star attraction at Laughing Wild is Mandira Bedi, of the noodle strap fame. A humorous look at two people trying to make sense of life that has lost its bearings.

In Delhi the festival kicks off at Shriram Centre with My Best... on August 22, 23 and 24 to be followed by The Good... from September 5-7 and Laughing Wild on September 20 and 21.

Shows in Pune are staggered from August 22 to October 12, in Kolkata and Hyderabad from September 12 to October 19. Tickets are priced between Rs 100 and Rs 500 for the Delhi leg.

McDowell's brand building exercise has seen it being associated with sporting events such as golf and polo.

The theatre festival, its second, is part of its plans to be associated with the good times and provide healthy entertainment.