This Hindi play in Bengaluru will let audience be actors too

Bengaluru: If classes can be taught online, why can’t plays be directed online too? The answer to that question is the Hindi play, ‘Chappal Ki Dukaan Aage Hai’, to be performed on May 5 at Theatrenama in Bengaluru’s Koramangala.

The play’s director Kamal Kabuliwala, artistic director of Kabuliwala Storytelling and Theatre Company, who put it all together sitting in Delhi over WhatsApp, even has a name for it – satellite theatre.

“We tried this format four years ago, but then the pandemic happened and we wrapped it up. Now, I decided to revive this again, because it was received well by the audience in the few shows that we managed to stage,” said Kabuliwala.

Satellite theatre format gives the actors the freedom to rehearse for the play sitting in their homes, at their own convenient time, said Kabuliwala.

“In fact, the actors will meet each other for the first time during the performance,” said Kabuliwala.

When you start to experiment, why stop at one, seems to be the underlying theme of satellite theatre. This time round, the audience gets to engage themselves too, if they want, said Kabuliwala.

“Since this is an experiment, the audience are also welcome to come on stage and perform on stage in the silent acting parts and make the scenes of the play an integral part of this experiment to make it successful. The audience does not have to just be a spectator, they can make memories performing on stage without rehearsals and go back with rich experiences,” added Kabuliwala.

The director said he chose to interpret the work of author Vinod Kumar Shukla, because he was pulled by the world of magical realism created by the author.

“The author, often referred to as Premchand of our times, has filled his narration with delightful incidents — the magical lamp of memories, the rickshaw moving on its own, talking to bicycles, flying with fugga, and the perpetual presence of the slipper shop. This works well for experimental theatre,” said Kabuliwala.

“If this works out, we’ll take this to other cities, perhaps organise more shows in Bengaluru,” added the director.