It is going to be a weekend of pure entertainment! Take a break from your hectic schedule and head to The Hindu MetroPlus Theatre Fest, which will be back in Kochi on August 2, 3 and 4 with an eclectic mix of plays — ranging from hilarious spoofs to history and fantasy.
After all, what’s life without a little drama!
Launched in 2005 in Chennai, the fest has grown to become a calendar event across five cities, with shows in Kochi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Coimbatore as well. It has brought a wide range of plays from across India and from countries such as the U.K., Germany, the U.S., Korea, Singapore and Sri Lanka.
This year, the line-up of three plays for Kochi includes two new plays, by Perch and evam, Chennai, and one by Akvarious, Mumbai.
The festival will be launched on August 2 with How to Skin a Giraffe . Devised by the Chennai-based group Perch and by rafiki, Bangalore, the play has been inspired by iconic German playwright Georg Buchner’s Leonce and Lena . Directed by Rajiv Krishnan, it is about two dynasties, a son, a daughter, a marriage of convenience, an escape and a chance encounter. Somewhere along the way, it asks how you can skin a giraffe!
Perch’s tribute to Buchner in his 200th year re-interprets the original play’s ironic look at boredom, love, and autocracy, retaining the touch of the absurd. Live music, songs and movement, combined with a simple set and colourful costumes add life to Perch’s version of Buchner’s play.
Next up on August 3 is Bollywood KEE-MAA by evam, an award-winning group of theatre entrepreneurs. The play is a spoof on ‘Bollywood and every other Wood,’ albeit with a liberal dose of masala . Join the exuberant actors as they bring to life the typical Hindi film world, inhabited by the rich father, the business magnate, the corrupt manager, the blind, widowed mother, the vamp, forbidden love, the quest for revenge, the super villain, Mother India… and more of those staple themes in the Bollywood tale.
Ram and Lakhan, Vijay and Basanti, Shashi Kala and Shakti Kapoor, Samba and Ramu Kaka, Mac Mohan and many more residents of Ramgad come to life in Bollywood KEE-MAA, directed by Gavin Robertson.
The curtains come down on August 4 with Some Times by Akvarious, Mumbai, directed by Adhaar Khurana. The play revolves around Paramjit Singh Duggal a.k.a. Pammi whose problems are bigger than his pet names. Pammi’s mother wants grandchildren but his father wants him to join the family business. His boss pays too little and he cannot possibly handle commitment, which is what his girlfriend wants. To make it more complicated, he owes money to a mysterious man named Joseph. What gets Paramjit through?
The plays will be staged at the JTPac, Choice School Campus, Tripunithura. All shows start at 7.30 p.m.
The Schedule:
August 2: How to Skin a Giraffe
August 3: Bollywood KEE-MAA
August 4: Some Times
Venue: JTPac, Tripunithura
>For the detailed schedule of MPTF 2013 in all five cities, click here.
Tickets:
Price: Rs. 300, Rs. 200 & Rs. 100. Season passes at Rs. 750 & Rs. 500
Tickets will also be available at The Hindu Office - Vytilla, DC Books - Kurian Towers , DC Penguin - Bay Pride Mall
Helpline numbers: +9198406 12333 / +9198402 36367
Buy tickets for >Kochi show here
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