William Shakespeare’s plays are always a delight to watch in any form, and if presented in a Bollywood style musical, then it’s double the fun. The company Theatre, one of Mumbai’s innovative theatre groups, will be performing ‘Piya Behrupiya’, a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. Commissioned by London’s Globe Theatre, this play has had over 200 shows across the world.
Featuring today at Nehru Memorial in the evening, this play has been creating ripples in countries including China, South Korea, France and Chile, where the group used subtitles for the audience to help them understand the play.
Directed by Atul Kumar, this play has been translated by Amitosh Nagpal, who also plays the role of Sebastian in the play. Geetanjali Kulkarni, Mansi Multani and Sagar Deshmukh also play vital roles in this funny and simplified version of Shakespeare’s most read play.
“We have done almost 200 shows, and every time we perform, it is a new performance. It opened at the Globe theatre five years back in London and has been travelling not just in India, but all over the world,” says Geetanjali Kulkarni, an actress in the play. “I feel happy performing Viola/ Cezario - firstly because I play a girl who plays a boy and also because I love playing Shakespeare’s characters,” she added.
According to Geetanjali, the play breathes in a lot of freshness, despite running for a long time. She feels that it is because of the efficiency of the writer and the director. “While one has written it with a lot of emotions, the director ensures that the actors are on their toes and helps them as if they are five-year-olds,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}According to Geetanjali, the play breathes in a lot of freshness, despite running for a long time. She feels that it is because of the efficiency of the writer and the director. “While one has written it with a lot of emotions, the director ensures that the actors are on their toes and helps them as if they are five-year-olds,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}The play is set on folk music, more like a Nautanki performed by characters which Geetanjali feels are timeless and a joy to perform.
Besides this play, Geetanjali is also doing another play called Gajab Kahani in Hindi, directed by Mohit Takalkar, where she plays an ‘elephant’. The actress has also acted in Muktibhavan which won special mention at this year's National award.