Equus

Troupe – Jester Productions
Directed by – Daniel D’Souza
Cast - Daniel D’Souza, Eammon Ennis

On Friday, amidst the hopping over at friends place, when we reached at Rangashankara 3:30,I found it almost empty. Only to realize that the 3:30 show was for Saturday, and not Friday. We return on a Saturday evening for almost a packed show.

When you see the psychiatrist rambling about the horse and the boy’s unexplained proximity and obsession, it sounds vague and obscure. Now for the next about an hour, the play takes you back to what all happened before that in a flash back mode. Then it completes the cycle and brings the play to the present to-day status and carries on. Then everything appears cohesive and linked. Excellent performance by the cast, minimal pseudo acting, minimal forced attempts to show style. The play weaves a great and intense narrative into an thought provoking act.

Also the play indulges into quite a lot of issues of conflict on morality, religion, sexual preferences and the parenting. A play which requires the needed sensibility and background to appreciate the subject.

3 Day Hop

Thursday Night – Koshy’s Dinner
Order : One Spanish Omelet, One Minced Mutton on Toast, Two Cups of Coffee. Noisy surrounding, Mallu waiters, two anxious diners, whispers, re-collecting old times, warmth of the coffee and the presence of your partner in front of you…















Friday Evening – Rangashankara
Play – Robinson and Crusoe
Max Mueller Bhawan, Rangashankara, AHA , India Stage and all the enthusiast bought this wonderful play ‘Robinson and Crusoe’ to Bangalore. Directed by Gracias Devaraj, it was definitely a well executed play, with excellent acting, plot development, sound and light and with the required dash of humor. As always it’s more fun to hear to giggles and mouthed laughter of the kids around. This time it was all the more special when I could feel an arm around mine all through the play. Both of us liked the play and also the hurried cup of coffee and tea before the play. Reached the next hop half drenched in Bangalore late evening shower.




















Friday Night: Juke Box
Order: One JB Chicken Sizzler, One Bottle Mineral Water, One Chicken Stroganoff
Half drenched, walk into the almost brimful restaurant, grab a seat for two, see people engrossed in their meals and their pitchers with animated conversations, we share the warmth of each other’s company and the food of course. Moderately yummy meal, reach home, a cup of coffee to ward away any chances of a cold…Power of love, Pretty Woman, I just Died in your arms and others play on in the background…
















Saturday – Ebony, Barton Center
Table for Two, Outdoor Specified, Time 9:30
City Lights in the backdrop, fireworks dazzling the night on account of Eid and Ganesha festival, UB City shines bright, Kakori Kebab, Sprinkling wine, Murgh Kebabi Masala, light drizzle, shining engagement ring, hands in hand, few snaps clicked with the mobile camera, unable to capture the magic, but of course. A promise fulfilled.
















Sunday – Infant Jesus Shrine
Seek blessings for ourselves and our families















Commercial Street
A sneak preview of the things to offer, haggle with an antique store guy to pick an Victorian style railway station clock, later found that we paid almost the double for that…

















St Mark’s Church
A lengthy sermon, soulful singing by the priest, flowers for every woman in the church, and a special wish for the lady ‘to bloom like the flower’.














Java City
On the bench, listening to the oldies on the lead guitar, keyboard, percussion and the bass, ‘pretty woman’, ‘don’t worry be happy’, and a few others which I heard for the first time, Java City Filter Coffee, Java City Iced Tea(2 of them), an evening well spent and that too for just 106/-.

S^x, Morality and Cens^ship - META Shortlisted Play

Director – Sunil Shanbhag
Cast : Nagesh Bhonsle, Gitanjali Kulkarni , Shubhrojyoti Barat , Ketaki Thatte Gulshan Devaiah
Script: Shanta Gokhale and Irawati Karnik

I walked into Rangashankara only to find a serpentine queue at the bottom of the stairs…I was unsure if I would get the tickets for the show, I did. Picked up a ‘nimboo paani’ and was in no hurry, as I am not very keen to grab a sea right in the center and in the front rows and all…I got a comfortable seat, and waited for the play to start. I had the book ‘The house on the Mall’ to keep me company…
Maybe 2 minutes after the scheduled, time, the representative from IFA introduces the play, and for a change, no bakwaas, no ‘nonsense jokes’, no attempt at being forcefully forgetful and stuff like that…A good intro for a grand play.
There was a ‘dholak’ – a kind of folk drum and a harmonium…Nagesh Bhonsle makes a huge impact with his entry, followed by Ketaki Thatte. Both of them bring so much of charm and intrigue to the whole set up. I would not divulge too much about the plot of the play, but would definitely want to put on record the Champa and Laxmi do an absolutely stunning performance. Nothing but outstanding. If the script has the fire, these two actors kindle the fire. The play is definitely without its sheen w/o them. And likewise the other actors, who shared the stage with them. What a voice, what a delivery and what confidence…
There were expletives used freely, there was violence and the subject was quite sensitive, but very well handled and delivered…It also uses the screen to screen some movie clips, some music compositions and other stuff, a good blend of different forms.
Then there were these pseudo intellectuals who more than asking genuine questions have a point or comment to make more than anything….I mean for once when would people ask questions and not just blabber about something they have read or their opinion…There was this lady who kind was on the verge of a emotional explosion, and felt it was an personal journey for her….Was it staged? Was it an extension of the play?

Hedda Gabler

Cast: Sheeba Chadha, Neeraj Kabi, Denzil Smith, Samar Sarila, Tillotama Shome, Shipra Singh and Veera Abadan.

I walked into Rangashankara picked up the ticket and wanted to get some grub before the show. I saw two persons at the café, who apparently had met after really long years and I assumed they would be some veterans of the circuit. It was only later that I realized tha one of them was not only a lead cast in the play but also a popular actor on the play/cinema circle – Denzil Smith.

www.denzilsmith.com/

The play was decently executed, and the actors looked absolutely confident and were showing off their command and control. This hint of exhibitionism I feel somewhere came in between the character they were portraying… Never the less the play being Hedda Gabler had more than enuf matter and substance to look for than all the false pretences of the actors.

The duration of the play was almost 2 hours and during the 10 minutes break; all the civilized gentlemen and ladies became unruly savages when it came to picking tea/coffee from the counter. It was clearly survival of the fittest, with no consideration whatsoever to order and sanity.

All’s Well…? - Rangashankara from 23 Oct-25 Oct

Kriyative Theatre presented the play - All’s Well…? at Rangashankara from 23 Oct-25 Oct Bangalore. Artistes: Sundar, Laxmi Chandrashekar, Vidya Venkatram, Shilpa Rudrappa and Ramakrishna Kannarapadi.

Good props, excellent delivery and performance, music a bit too loud, a lot of cliché, set ideologies, biases and hearsay. It delves on the human relationships and bonds laced with humor. There is scope to treat the subject with more intensity.

Zapperdockel and the Wock, Rangashankara, Bangalore, September 14

Zapperdockel and the Wock.

Left in time from the office, navigated the evening traffic and escaped the light showers to reach Rangashankara in time. Picked tickets, had chai, and I still had some time at hand. I stepped in to find lots of tiny tots seated right on the stage and eagerly waiting for the puppets to appear. Arundhati Nag too came in to watch the play. The lady on the stage was absolutely stunning and brought life to whole play. Though the story line was quite simple, it had the kids roaring with laughter. Sometimes it makes a lot of sense to see sense in what we too appreciated as kids once.

This would be my third play targeted for young adults in last one month. And each time the themes and the presentations has always been worth it.

Park, Rangashankara. 3:30, August 23

Park, Rangashankara, Bangalore, 3:30, August 23

There was enough audience for a lazy Sunday afternoon. I noticed that the streets were quite deserted on my way to Rangashankara. I reached in time, and got myself a comfortable spot.

Justifying the title of the play, the props on the stage had just three benches. The first character to walk on to the stage was someone who didn’t look too comfortable with the stage. The next person looked too shabby to be on stage. I was kind of put off by the appearances of the actors and the initial set-up on stage. The third person was a known face and it was relief to some animation and curiosity being developing...

While this whole play was warming up, I noticed someone, a dainty, erudite girl sitting where I was sitting yesterday, with her hands behind her head, just like I had mine. She was seated next an elderly person, wearing Indian traditional wear. The play by now had some element of humor, background music and satire being infused...At the same time it was intriguing to see the response and effect the play had on the lady. I paid close attention to both to what was happening on stage and the response it evoked...It was quite intriguing.

So this play to the erudite girl, who resembled Arundhati Roy and for making me see beyond the presentation and appearance of the actors...

Six Degrees of Separation

Rangashankara, Bangalore, August 22, Six Degrees of Separation

As one of the characters in the play says - I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation between us and everyone else on this planet.


For me it was after a long hiatus I saw some of the known faces from the Bangalore Theater circuit. Two years back there were more of these amateur theater groups which did a good show often, then their numbers started dwindling...

During the initial fifteen minutes it looked the actors were lost amongst themselves with no attempt to involve the audience, and whatever pretext they did their monologue with the audience, it sounded quite phony. But by the time 'Paul' talks about catcher in the rye and being phony, the characters built their rapport with the audience or at least me from the audience.

Paul in one of the scenes says, I was happy and added sex to it. Is that wrong?
I noticed there was a 'firang' couple well past their youth, and the lady looked into the eyes of the man. She then shyly put her head on his shoulder. I lost two minutes of what happened on stage, but those are rare moments you get to see...

A funny incident happened post the play, I had ordered for an omelet toast, and had gone to answer the missed calls on my phone. The toast was ready, and the guy had been calling out for last five minutes I was too embarrassed to answer his call from the other end of the cafe. By the time I walked to the counter one of the actors from the play, was handed over the toast. That's when the guy spotted me, took the toast and gave it to me, and gave me the look 'why sir'? I was too embarrassed by the whole scene, the other actors who had gathered to have a bite, laughed out loud on the plight of their fellow mate. I just mumbled 'sorry for the disappointment' and walked by....