The Curtain Goes Up

In the haphazard world of Delhi theatre, very little original work has emerged over the years. The few plays staged are usually based on works by the greats, Shakespeare, Brecht and Premchand. However, this year the season kicks off with some fresh scripts and new voices. Lokesh Jain’s Hamay Naaz Hai, his second original proscenium production in a career spanning 25 years, will be staged on October 31. First City Theatre Foundation will stage A Brief History of Pantomimes on November 14, while Hungry Heart Foundation’s Mahim Junction will have its India premiere in December, six years after it was staged at the Edinburgh Festival. And Traitors, which was tested with a small show a few months ago, will travel to Pakistan before a major opening in January. This is welcome news to theatre lovers, most of whom wonder when they last came across a good, original play. Neel Chaudhuri of the First City Theatre Foundation can’t remember. “Few and far between,” says Sohaila Kapur of the Hungry Heart Festival, adding that the drama company “made a policy decision a year ago to produce original scripts in order to encourage creative Indian writing.” “The reason people just pick up scripts like bedroom farces and comedy is simply convenience,” says Chaudhari. It’s a long, painstaking process to produce an original play.