125 years of Kasauli Club: Home-grown Romeo, Juliet leave audience in splits

Vivek Neupane, who directed the play, credits Tagore Theatre director Chakresh Kumar for coming up with the concept of the play

Ever wondered what if William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers immortalised by the Bard, lived in the tricity?

A play adapted from Romeo and Juliet was staged on the fourth day of the 125th anniversary celebrations of Kasauli Club. (HT File)

This fascinating thought was translated on stage in a comic adaptation of Romeo and Juliet during the 125th anniversary celebrations of Kasauli Club — a prestigious British-era establishment nestled in the Shivalik Hills — on Wednesday.

Director Vivek Neupane credited Tagore Theatre director Chakresh Kumar for coming up with the concept: “He felt people would like to watch something light after the pandemic, which was a difficult time for everybody.”

So, what was different about these home-grown lovers? Neupane said, “For starters, the rival families are from Punjab and Haryana. Our hero, Rajvir Bhatia, is a Punjabi lad, who falls for Jasmine Hooda, a Haryanvi lass. There is also a parallel love story between the servants – Madhuri, a girl from Himachal Pradesh and Bittu from Punjab.”

On whether the comedic play still ends in tragedy, he said, “The writers, Yamini Verma, Sumit, Aabhya Jagga, have improvised the story to give it local flavour, but the trajectory of the plot is the same.”

Earlier in the day, Chandigarh-based yoga guru Madhu Pandit took attendees on a journey of wellness.