The Simla Amateur Dramatic Club or Simla ADC, is perhaps the oldest theatre club in North India, being set up in 1837. The first play it presented was on May 30, 1887, perhaps appropriately titled “Time Will Tell”. Performed at the Gaiety Theatre which is modelled on the Royal Albert Hall Theatre in London, this was the first of over 100 plays presented by the club.
The Club was taken over by Army management after Independence, and still remains partially managed by the Army. Viceroys have acted in plays at the Gaiety, as have other famous personalities like Amrita Shergill, the famous painter, Prithviraj Kapoor, Utpal Dutt, and painter Krishen Khanna.
Amateur actors from the bureaucracy like the Raja of Bhajji, and senior Army officers like General IJ Khanna (then Captain) and Brigadier Ash Dutt have also participated enthusiastically in what was essentially an in-house entertaining activity in a small hill town.
The acoustics of the Gaiety Theatre remain untouched; and no magnification is needed even now, with sound reaching every corner of the small 320-people seater. Access to the theatre remains as it was over 100 years ago with no vehicles being allowed on the Mall, so one has to walk to see a production. The old world feel of a bygone era remains, with the audience even today dressing formally.
The presentation of a play at the Gaiety is indeed a labour of love, with amateur actors from all walks of society gathering together for over two months ever day laboriously to maintain an old tradition, with no commercial benefits at all.
Recently the ADC presented “The Private Dining” in two acts; the play was much appreciated by the Simla audience. The play was directed by Simla writer Raaja Bhasin, and had a small cast of six, being based on the story of three divorced couples who are enticed, against their will, to meet again at a private party. The sets were minimalistic — black walls and black furniture, trying to portray a smart interior of a Paris restaurant.
The play was introspective rather than situational, with each of the six protagonists being forced to analyse their marriage and partners. There were some lovely one liners — “You could be arrested for looking at me like that”; “There was always something vague about our marriage; like a window that needing cleaning. You knew there was something out there but you could never see what”.
However, after the interval, the play lost momentum somewhat and slowed down. The proceedings on stage were not gripping enough to hold audience attention fully, despite good acting by the players.
The marital differences so volubly expounded by the three couples failed to grip. The finale was open ended and one was left wondering whether any of the couples would get together again. But, the magic of old-fashioned entertainment that a well done play provides was undeniable.
