Extraordinary performances involving ordinary life situations captivate theatre lovers
Thespo 16 has leapfrogged to its 4th day and it seems like yesterday that the much awaited festival started. Keeping up with is theme, ‘Plug-in to the Tamasha’, the festival is presenting a variety of experiences and entertainment with something for one and all.
Day 4 opened with a specialised ‘Speak the Speech’ workshop with a true English theatre veteran in India, Shernaz Patel. She enlightened the young theatre minds about an actor’s relationship with the script, how they can unravel the meaning of not just lines but also what lies behind these lines and what lies between them. For those who missed Kaizad Gherda’s ‘Understanding Music for Theatre’ session, Day 4 brought another opportunity for budding theatre artistes to understand why and how music affects an audience and how to adapt music design ideas to one’s own performances.
Vivek Date’s musical notes began to cast a spell as the evening set in at theatre wallah’s choicest haven, Prithvi Theatre. Evening schedule of performances opened with a fringe act ‘Avyakt’ staged by Mumbai’s Natakwalahs that unveiled a rather unusual conversation about a retired school clerk’s life between him and a stranger. Pune based theatre artiste Shobh Kalamandal captivated Mumbai’s theatre lovers with his 30 minute Marathi platform performance ‘Happy Ending’. The act presented a never seen before personal account of how far can someone go when every incident in life does not turn out be as anticipated. The day drew to a close with another intense play from Pune, ‘Castle of Glass’ staged by Shabdagandhar. It diligently unfolded the story of an artist who believes he is eternally trapped in a mental institution unless someone else takes his place.
For theatre goers, Day 4 was full of takeaways but there is more to come. Day 5 is studded with an incredible line up of learning and fun. In his workshop, ‘Flubber The Clown’, Martin D’Souza is sure to surprise every performer plugged into this year’s tamasha and show them a path to be an entertainer while keeping the clown in them alive. Experts Karla Singh will be seen honing the youth theatre artistes’ music skills at a workshop, ‘The Dynamite and Dynamism of Producing a Musical’.
There is an evening in store to sway along a seamless blend of folk music and myriad of genres with Indo Gypsies’ captivating renditions. Promising variety with every passing day, Day 5 also holds an evening of dramatized readings of works of German playwright, Roland Schimmelpfennig. A 15 minute platform performance ‘TRP Ka Zamana Hai, Baaki Sab Bahana Hai’ will present a powerful critique on ‘Media’, the fourth pillar of democracy that is deeply involved in the business of making news. Lastly, ‘Walking Path’, a 75 minute play is going to leave the audience awestruck with a wordless poetry-in-motion, from the pearl of the Orient – Sri Lanka.
The 16th edition of Thespo, the annual drama festival for theatre-wallahs below the age of 25 is taking place from 15th to 21st December 2014. Organized by QTP, under the aegis of Theatre Group Bombay, it will be taking place in two venues this year: the iconic Prithvi Theatre, which has been the home of Thespo since 2008, and Sitara Studio, the city’s latest indie cultural space that used to stage Marathi plays back in the 1970s. The festival, this year, is centered on the theme ‘Plug-In to the Tamasha’. For more details, visit www.thespo.org.
