Kalyan theatre group brings invisible city to life on stage

A man is standing on the street, below a building, calling out to a resident named Theresa. Soon, he is joined by passers-by, who try to help him attract the attention of the elusive Theresa.

A man is standing on the street, below a building, calling out to a resident named Theresa. Soon, he is joined by passers-by, who try to help him attract the attention of the elusive Theresa.

The group enjoys what they are doing and continue to call out to Theresa till one of them asks, “Are you sure she is at home?” Another person asks, “Don’t you have the keys to the house?”

The man answers that he does not live in the building, and doesn’t even know anyone named Theresa. “If you do not like the name, we can call out another name,” he says. The group admonishes him and disperses.

The story — a reccontinni (little story, in Italian) — was written by Italo Calvino during the Second World War. Kalyan-based experimental theatre group Mitee-Char translated five such Calvino’s stories into Marathi and created an anthology called Adrushya Nagaritlya Katha (Invisible City). The play was performed as part of the Zindagi Theatre Section on day one of the Hindustan Times Kala Ghoda Arts Festival on Saturday.